20/02/2026

FRIDAY | FEB 20, 2026 9 US presses Iran to make deal WASHINGTON: The White House on Wednesday said Iran would be “wise” to make a deal with the United States as President Donald Trump once again hinted at military action. The two sides recently resumed indirect talks, mediated by Oman, after Trump repeatedly threatened military action against Iran over a crackdown on protesters last month. A previous attempt at negotiations collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran in June 2025, beginning a 12-day conflict that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. “Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with his administration,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. On Wednesday, Trump again suggested the US might strike Iran in a post on his Truth Social site, with a US military buildup underway in the Middle East. He cautioned Britain against giving up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, saying the archipelago’s Diego Garcia airbase might be needed were Iran not to agree a deal, “in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime”. CNN and CBS reported Wednesday that the US military would be ready to launch strikes against Iran as early as this weekend, although Trump has reportedly not made a final decision. The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported that Trump has been briefed on his military options with “all of them designed to maximise damage,” including a campaign to “kill scores of Iranian political and military leaders, with the goal of overthrowing the government,” unnamed US officials told the newspaper. Tehran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday said Iran was “drafting” a framework for future talks with the US. Iran and the US held a second round of Oman-mediated negotiations on Tuesday in Geneva. Araghchi said Tehran had agreed with Washington on “guiding principles,” but US Vice-President JD Vance said Iran had not yet acknowledged all of Washington’s red lines. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday said “we do not want war” but suggested Tehran could not give in to US demands. – AFP KYIV: Ukrainian officials will boycott the Paralympic Winter Games, Kyiv said on Wednesday, after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) allowed Russian athletes to compete under their national flag. Ukraine also urged other countries to shun the opening ceremony in Verona on March 6, in part of a growing standoff between Kyiv and international sporting federations four years since Russia’s invasion. Six Russians and four Belarusians would be allowed to take part under their own flags at the Milan-Cortina Paralympics rather than as neutral athletes, the Games’ governing body confirmed to AFP on Tuesday. Russia has been mostly banned from international sport since Moscow invaded Ukraine. Ukrainian Sports Minister Matviy Bidny called the decision “outrageous”, and accused Russia and Belarus of turning “sport into a tool of war, lies and contempt”. “Ukrainian public officials will not attend the Paralympic Games. We will not be present at the opening ceremony. We will not take part in any other official Paralympic events.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said he had instructed Kyiv’s ambassadors to urge other countries to also shun the event. – AFP Ukraine to boycott Paralympics

Trump, allies inaugurate ‘Board of Peace’

o President to wield veto power over institution

including seizing small personal rifles from Hamas. In one step towards a new Gaza, a technocratic committee was formed last month to handle day-to-day governance of Gaza headed by engineer and former official Ali Shaath. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP that the “Board of Peace” should compel Israel to “stop its violations in Gaza” and to lift its long siege of the territory. Under terms laid out by the White House, Trump will wield veto power over the “Board of Peace” and could remain its head even after leaving office, and countries that want to stay on permanently rather than enjoy a two-year stint would need to pay US$1 billion (RM3.91 billion). – AFP increase Israel’s control in parts of the West Bank where the Palestinian Authority currently exercises power. The UN missions for 85 member states issued a joint statement Tuesday condemning Israel’s encroaching control of the West Bank. Britain Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who chaired the meeting, said “we must prevent the destabilisation of the West Bank and preserve the viability of a Palestinian state.” – AFP

the Trump administration, teaming up with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating war in Gaza. The US said the plan has now entered its second phase with a focus on disarming Hamas, the Palestinian militant group whose unprecedented Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the massive offensive. Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authorities, says at least 601 individuals have been killed by Israeli forces since the truce began. US officials, including Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, have insisted that solid progress is being made and that Hamas is feeling pressure to give up weapons. Israel has suggested sweeping restrictions

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump yesterday gathered allies to inaugurate the “Board of Peace,” his new institution focused on progress in Gaza but whose ambitions reach much further. About two dozen world leaders or other senior officials were present in Washington for the meeting, including several of Trump’s authoritarian-leaning friends and virtually none of the European democrats that traditionally sign on to US initiatives. The “Board of Peace” came together after

Israel conducting de facto annexation of West Bank: UN NEW YORK: A top UN official on Wednesday said steps by Israel to tighten control of areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority amount to “gradual de facto annexation”. annexation of the West Bank, as unilateral Israeli steps steadily transform the landscape,“ said UN Under Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo.

“If implemented, the measures would constitute an expansion of Israeli civil authority in the occupied West Bank. “The moves could lead to settlement expansion by removing bureaucratic barriers, and easing land purchases and building permits.” The recently approved steps are set to

Since last week, Israel has approved a series of initiatives backed by far-right ministers to consolidate control over the West Bank where the Palestinians exercise limited autonomy under past deals. “We are witnessing the gradual de facto

DELIGHTFUL DRAW ... A Palestinian boy stands amid bags of sweets and nuts in Gaza City’s Zawiya market at the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. – AFPPIC

Zelensky dissatisfied with outcome of peace talks GENEVA: Two days of peace talks in Geneva between Ukraine and Russia ended on Wednesday without a breakthrough as President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was dissatisfied with the outcome while Washington reported “meaningful progress”. Officials from Moscow and Kyiv said discussions in Geneva were difficult. At the conclusion, the delegations said they would meet again, without providing a date, while Zelensky and the White House suggested discussions could occur soon. Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, said: “As of today, we cannot say that the result is sufficient. “The military discussed certain issues seriously and substantively. Sensitive political matters, possible compromises and the necessary meeting of leaders have not yet been sufficiently addressed.” He added that it was important that European representatives were present in Geneva and described holding a next round of talks later this month as appropriate.

of talks soon. However, she said Trump viewed the situation, nearly four years into the war, as “very unfair, not just for Russians and Ukrainians who have lost their lives” but also for US taxpayers who have provided financial support to Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s negotiating team would brief President Vladimir Putin on the talks and acknowledged the delegation’s leader had called the discussions “difficult”. As the two sides met for a second day with mediation by US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Zelensky wrote on social media platform X that Russia was “trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage”. – Reuters

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said there was “meaningful progress made” with pledges “to continue to work towards a peace deal together”. She suggested there would be another set

Ukraine has faced sustained pressure from US President Donald Trump to agree to a deal that could mean painful concessions, as Russian forces pound its power grid and slowly advance on the battlefield.