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US military ‘ready to strike’ Iran as Tehran, Moscow plan joint naval drills

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US military ‘ready to strike’ Iran as Tehran, Moscow plan joint naval drills


The US Navys Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln leads its strike group during a photo exercise in the Arabian Sea, February 6, 2026. — Reuters
The US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln leads its strike group during a photo exercise in the Arabian Sea, February 6, 2026. — Reuters  
  • Trump to make final decision about striking Iran.
  • White House briefed on military buildup in Middle East.
  • Iran to submit written proposal to ease tensions with US.

The United States military is ready to carry out possible strikes on Iran as early as this weekend, CNN reported citing familiar sources, as Tehran and Russia announced fresh joint naval exercises in regional waters.

However, the international media report said, US President Donald Trump will make the final decision on whether to strike Iran.

The report comes amid Omani-mediated talks between the two countries in Geneva, with White House confirming a “little bit of progress” but saying distance remained on some issues. It added that Tehran was expected to come back with more details in a couple of weeks.

The second round of negotiations was held on Tuesday, after talks last year collapsed following Israel’s attack on Iran in June, which started a 12-day war. The talks were aimed at averting the possibility of US military action, while Tehran is demanding the lifting of US sanctions.

Iran has insisted that the discussions be limited to the nuclear issue, though Washington has previously pushed for Tehran’s ballistic missiles programme.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily against Iran, first over a deadly crackdown on protesters last month and then more recently over its nuclear programme.

According to the CNN report, the White House has been briefed that the military could be ready for a strike by the weekend, after a sufficient air and naval resources buildup in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the media outlet, quoted another source and claimed that Trump has privately argued both for and against military action and polled advisers and allies on what the best course of action is.

However, Reuters, citing an unnamed senior US official, reported that top US national security advisers met in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss Iran and were told all US military forces deployed to the region should be in place by mid-March, the official said.

‘Written proposal’

Reuters, quoting a US official, also reported that Tehran is expected to submit a written proposal on how to resolve its standoff with the United States in the wake of US-Iran talks in Geneva.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel to discuss Iran on February 28, the official said.

Tuesday’s indirect discussions in Geneva between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, were aimed at heading off a mounting crisis between the two countries.

Iran agreed to make a written proposal on how to address US concerns during the Geneva talks, the senior US official said. “We are currently waiting for that from the Iranians,” the official said.

Trump has ordered a major military buildup in the region as he contemplates the use of force with a second aircraft carrier group en route. “The president has ordered the continued buildup in the region, including the arrival of the second carrier group. Full forces should be in place by mid-March,” the senior US official said.

‘Naval drills’

Amid the negotiations with the US, Iran has announced conducting joint navy drills with Russia in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean on Thursday, the Iranian semi-official Fars news agency reported, a few days after Revolutionary Guards conducted military drills in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Creating convergence and coordination in joint measures to counter activities threatening maritime security and safety…as well as combating maritime terrorism, are among the main goals of this joint exercise,” an Iranian navy commander, Hassan Maghsoodloo said according to Fars news.

Moreover, Iran issued a notice to airmen (Notam) that it plans rocket launches in areas across its south on Thursday, the US Federal Aviation Administration website showed.

The notice was issued amid heightened tensions with the US, which has deployed warships near Iran, as US Vice President JD Vance said Washington was weighing whether to continue diplomatic engagement with Tehran or pursue other options.

The Notam system provides pilots, flight crews and other users of airspace with critical safety notices.


— With additional details from Reuters





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‘Sprit of resistance will continue’: Iran officials condemn Israeli assassination of IRGC intel. chief

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‘Sprit of resistance will continue’: Iran officials condemn Israeli assassination of IRGC intel. chief



Messages of condolences pour in after the head of the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Major General Majid Khademi, was assassinated in a US-Israeli terror strike in Tehran.

In a statement on Monday, the IRGC Public Relations Department said General Khademi, an elite commander, was martyred in the terrorist attack in the early hours of the day.

Major General Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, praised Khademi for his great endeavors to protect Islamic values and defend national security. He was martyred, Abdollahi said, by the “most vicious American-Israeli terrorists”.

The American and Zionist enemies must know that the martyrdom of such devoted commanders will make the Iranian nation and armed forces even “more resilient and determined” to keep on the path of the martyrs, General Abdollahi said.

‘Assassination will not undermine Iran’s national coherence’

Commander-in-chief of the Iranian Army Major General Amir Hatami said the barbarism put on global display by the American-Israeli enemy will fail to influence the “spirit of resistance of the proud Iranian nation”.

Iran’s adversaries, he said, are under the delusion that they can make any achievement through such wicked and blind moves. But the blood of martyrs only strengthens national will.

“This painful loss will not weaken the morale of the great Iranian people but rather strengthen national resolve and unity toward safeguarding independence and dignity”.

‘Enemies must await harder blows’

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the martyrdom of the head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization is proof that the Israeli regime and the US are desperate.

The US-Israeli enemies are going to great lengths to make up for their weakness on the battlefield through cowardly assassinations, he said.

“This blind conspiracy of global arrogance is always doomed to failure, and even harsher blows await them”.

The illegal, imposed war of aggression by the United States and Israel began on February 28 when they assassinated Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, along with several senior military commanders.

In response, Iranian Armed Forces have launched decisive, devastating attacks against US and Israeli interests in the occupied territories and across West Asia.

As the war entered its sixth week, Iran continues to have an upper hand on the battlefield. The enemy is looking for an off-ramp amid heavy human and material loss.



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‘Emperor has no clothes’: Americans call for 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office

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‘Emperor has no clothes’: Americans call for 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office



A growing number of lawmakers, experts, and commentators have called for Trump’s immediate removal from office by invoking the 25th Amendment, denouncing him for launching an unprovoked and unnecessary war against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The 25th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1967, establishes the process for removing a president who is unable to perform his duties. Section 4, which has never been invoked, allows the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to declare the president “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”

The US president’s Easter message, posted on the completion of one-month of the US-Israeli war on Iran, has drawn sharp rebuke for its content and tone.

US politicians, including some of Trump’s former allies and staunch opponents, described the statement as “psychotic,” “unhinged,” and evidence of a severe mental decline.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was among the first to sound the alarm, saying the president’s words on the war against the Islamic Republic were more than just troubling.

“One month after starting the war in Iran, this is the statement of the President of the United States on Easter Sunday,” Sanders wrote. “These are the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual. Congress has got to act NOW. End this war.”

Representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) echoed Sanders’ concerns with even stronger language, directly questioning the president’s mental state.

“This is psychotic,” McGovern stated bluntly. “The President of the United States needs to get help. Totally unhinged and extremely dangerous.”

The calls for action were not limited to the US Congress. Several commentators and former political figures focused on the 25th Amendment to have Trump removed from office.

Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh, once a Trump supporter turned fierce critic, pointed to the irony of the timing.

“His Easter morning post. And just 2 days ago, one of his ‘religious advisors’ compared him to Jesus Christ,” Walsh wrote. “He will forever be a stain on this country. And the world. 25th Amendment. Now. And to everyone else who, unlike Trump, understands & celebrates today – Happy Easter.”

The sentiment was shared by author and attorney Seth Abramson, who posed a straight question about the Republican Party’s inaction.

“I’m not saying this rhetorically—I’m speaking literally here,” Abramson said. “At what point do Republicans admit that Trump has lost his mind and replace him with Vance through the 25th Amendment? Never? Do we need to see a nuclear weapon dropped on a city of 10 million innocent civilians first?”

Concerns about the president’s mental fitness also came from medical professionals. Harry Sisson cited the reaction of Dr. Vin Gupta, a respected pulmonologist and health expert.

“Dr. Vin Gupta, a highly respected medical expert, has reacted to Trump’s insane Easter message amid ongoing questions about his health,” Sisson posted.

“‘The President is exhibiting all the signs of dementia.’ Trump has gone crazy and he’s showing it on the world stage.”

Other Democratic lawmakers and political activists questioned why the president’s own cabinet has remained silent so far, pointing to complicity in his actions.

Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) did not mince words, unequivocally calling the US president a threat to American national security.

“The 25th Amendment exists for a reason,” Ansari wrote. “The President of the United States is a deranged lunatic, and a national security threat to our country and the rest of the world.”

Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) also weighed in, invoking a classic metaphor to describe the US president’s apparent lack of self-awareness.

“The emperor has no clothes,” Stansbury wrote. “Time for the #25thAmendment. Congress and the Cabinet must act.”

Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) addressed the gravity of the situation as the US losses in the war against Iran pile up, emphasizing the deadly consequences of Trump’s erratic behavior.

“If I were in Trump’s Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment,” Murphy wrote. “This is completely, utterly unhinged. He’s already killed thousands. He’s going to kill thousands more.”

Activist Melanie D’Arrigo said the Trump cabinet’s inaction in the face of war against Iran is a deliberate choice, pointing to potential personal gain as a motive for their silence.

“If you’re wondering why Trump’s cabinet isn’t invoking the 25th Amendment after yet another unhinged post announcing war crimes in the war he started that his family and donors are personally profiting from…” D’Arrigo wrote.

“It’s because they’re happily complicit and compromised.”

Journalist and social media influencer Candace Owens called it “a satanic administration.”

“We all realize that satanic Zionists occupy the White House and Congress needs to move to have the Mad King Trump removed,” she wrote.

“All of our lives may depend upon other countries realizing that Trump is deeply unwell and surrounded by religious fanatics who have convinced him that he is a messiah. We are in uncharted territory. Leaders worldwide need to act accordingly.”

Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said the American public has now seen enough to demand action, placing the burden squarely on the Trump cabinet.

“Our President posted this message to the world on Easter Sunday,” Liccardo said.

“The public now clearly knows that Trump is no longer mentally fit to hold office. Each member of his cabinet has a moral and professional duty to act under the authority of the 25th Amendment; remove him.”



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IRGC strikes US, Israeli military-industrial sites in wave 98 of Operation True Promise 4

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IRGC strikes US, Israeli military-industrial sites in wave 98 of Operation True Promise 4



The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched the 98th wave of the decisive Operation True Promise 4, targeting command, operational and logistics centers, as well as military-industrial infrastructure used by the United States and Israel in the region.

In a statement released on Monday, the IRGC’s Public Relations Department said during the first phase of the combined operations, IRGC naval forces precisely targeted the Israeli-owned container ship SDN7 with a cruise missile.

Meanwhile, the statement said, Iranian ballistic missiles struck northern and southern areas of Tel Aviv, strategic sites in Haifa, chemical companies and factories in Beersheba, and a gathering point of Israeli forces in Petah Tikva.

The elite Iranian military force also said the American amphibious helicopter carrier LHA7, transporting more than 5,000 sailors and marines, came under Iran’s attack and was forced to retreat deeper into the southern Indian Ocean.

In another phase of the operation, a drone production center jointly operated by the United Arab Emirates and Israel, along with several military aircraft stationed at Ali al-Salem air base in Kuwait, was hit by Iranian missiles and drones, the IRGC said.

The IRGC said its naval forces are monitoring transit in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf while remaining prepared to act decisively against even the slightest movement by the enemies.

The illegal, imposed war of aggression by the United States and Israel began on February 28 with airstrikes that assassinated senior Iranian officials and commanders.

Iran has responded by carrying out 98 waves of retaliatory attacks against US and Israeli military and business assets across the region, using ballistic missiles and drones.

Iran also keeps the Strait of Hormuz shut to oil and gas tankers affiliated with the aggressors and those cooperating with them. This is to maintain security at the strategic waterway.



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