21/02/2026

SATURDAY | FEB 21, 2026

10

Trump gives Iran ultimatum

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday promised US$10 billion (RM39 billion) and Muslim-majority nations offered funding and troops for Gaza as he inaugurated his “Board of Peace,” a new institution whose ultimate mission has drawn questions. Trump brought together allies from around the world to hail his peacemaking just as he sends US military might near Iran and threatens war. Presiding with a gavel over the meeting in the Washington building of the former US Institute of Peace, which has been gutted and renamed after the 79-year-old Republican, Trump hailed the “powerful people” who joined his board. “We will help Gaza. We will straighten it out. We’ll make it successful,” Trump said, holding up a document with pledges before the disco beats of his adopted theme-song YMCA came on the speakers. “We will make it peaceful, and we will do things like that in other spots. Spots will come up, things will happen.” Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each promised at least US$1 billion. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said more than US$6.5 billion was pledged, presumably excluding Trump’s offer. “Together we could achieve the dream of bringing lasting harmony to a region tortured by centuries of war and suffering,” said Trump, who has spoken of building tourist resorts in Gaza. He did not explain exactly where the money would go and whether Congress had approved the contribution he announced for the institution, which has drawn criticism for its opaque nature. – AFP More than US$10 billion promised for aid in Gaza Israeli settlers publicise attacks on Palestinians TEL AVIV: The radical Israeli settler group Hilltop Youth has published a tally of attacks it says it carried out against Palestinians over the past month in the occupied West Bank, describing the violence as its “struggle against the Arab enemy”. The movement, known for hardline activism and involvement in efforts to drive Palestinians from parts of the territory, posted the list on its Telegram channel on Wednesday, detailing incidents it claimed responsibility for. The tally, titled “Monthly summary of the struggle against the Arab enemy in the Holy Land”, lists 29 vehicles set ablaze, 12 homes torched, “40 Arabs injured”and hundreds of windows smashed and olive trees cut down across 33 towns and villages. Five of them are in Mikhmas, a village near Ramallah. A nearby Bedouin community left the area this month, citing sustained harassment. On Wednesday, the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry said a 19-year-old had died of wounds sustained after being shot by settlers in Mikhmas. The Hilltop Youth’s figures reflect a surge in settler violence across the West Bank. The UN said nearly 700 Palestinians were displaced by settler violence and intimidation in January alone, the highest monthly figure since the Gaza war began in October 2023. Hilltop Youth is a loose network of hardline settlers, often made up of small groups of teenagers sometimes overseen by an adult, who establish unauthorised outposts atop West Bank hills. They are widely accused of using intimidation and violence to push Palestinians out from areas surrounding the outposts. On Tuesday, a group of influential rabbis from settlements in the northern West Bank issued a public letter celebrating settlement expansion while insisting violence was forbidden. Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements, which are illegal under international law. The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion. – AFP

Iran’s atomic energy chief on Thursday said “no country can deprive Iran of the right” to nuclear enrichment. Speaking on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted “We do not want war” but suggested Tehran could not give in to US demands. Amid the escalating warnings, Poland on Thursday ordered all its citizens in Iran to “leave immediately”. Germany meanwhile moved troops out of northern Iraq, reducing its footprint to the minimum necessary to keep its base there functional, citing regional tensions. Russia called for restraint, with a Kremlin spokesperson saying, “We are currently witnessing an unprecedented escalation of tension in the region, but we still hope that political and diplomatic means and negotiations will continue to prevail in the search for a settlement”. – AFP

He added that Washington “may have to take it a step further” without any agreement, adding: “You’re going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days”. Trump’s comments came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued his own warning to Iran saying, “If the ayatollahs make a mistake and attack us, they will receive a response they cannot even imagine”. The warnings were issued days after the US and Iran held a second round of Omani mediated talks, this time in Geneva, with the US seeking to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, something it says it is not pursuing, and Iran seeking relief from US sanctions. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday said there were “many reasons and arguments that one could make for a strike against Iran. Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump.”

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Iran must make a “meaningful deal” in negotiations with Washington in the next 10 days or else “bad things happen”, as he deployed warships, fighter jets and other military hardware to the region. “It’s proven to be over the years not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran. We have to make a meaningful deal, otherwise bad things happen,” Trump told the inaugural meeting of the “Board of Peace”, his initiative to secure stability in Gaza. o Deadline issued amid escalating US military deployment in region

TRINKET TRADER ... A Palestinian man sells balloons and toys at a market stall with his daughter during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the Balata refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. – AFPPIC

Washington pays US$160 million to UN WASHINGTON: The United States has paid about US$160 million of the more than US$4 billion it owes to the United Nations, a UN spokesperson said on Thursday as President Donald Trump hosted his “Board of Peace” initiative experts say could undermine the UN. “Last week, we received about

UN officials say the US owed US$2.19 billion (RM8.6 billion) to the regular UN budget as of the start of February, more than 95% of the total owed by countries globally. The US also owes another US$2.4 billion (RM9.4 billion) for current and past peacekeeping missions and US$43.6 million (RM170 million) for UN tribunals. “We’re going to help them (UN) money-wise, and we’re going to make sure the United Nations is viable,” Trump said. – Reuters were out for nearly a month at one point last year, obliging the plant to rely on diesel generators. Grossi said IAEA monitors permanently assigned to Zaporizhzhia were trying to obtain information on the damage, but security restrictions prevented them from gaining access to the plant’s switchyard. “The IAEA stands ready to accurately report on the nature of the damage and any impact on nuclear safety and security.” – Reuters

opening “Board of Peace” meeting that Washington would give the UN money to strengthen it. The US is the biggest contributor to the UN budget, but under the Trump administration it has refused to make mandatory payments to regular and peacekeeping budgets, and slashed voluntary funding to UN agencies with their own budgets. Washington has also withdrawn from dozens of UN agencies.

US$160 million (RM624 million) from the US as a partial payment of its past dues for the UN regular budget.” Trump said during his comments at the

Ukrainian nuclear plant down to final power source BENGALURU: The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine is operating on its sole remaining outside power line after losing a backup line more than a week ago, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Grossi said on Thursday. He added that the Ferrosplavna-1 electric line went down on Feb 10“reportedly as a result of military activity”. power only from the Dniprovska power line. The plant, captured by Russian forces in the first weeks of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, generates no electricity but needs power to keep nuclear material cool and prevent a meltdown. Russia and Ukraine routinely accuse each other of military activity near the plant that could endanger nuclear safety.

The plant’s two external lines have gone down on a number of occasions and both

He also said the plant, Europe’s largest with six reactors, was now operating with outside