Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei dismissed accusations by the United States administration regarding its nuclear and missile programs on Wednesday, calling them propaganda and “the repetition of big lies.” Baqaei wrote on X, “Professional liars are good at creating the ‘illusion of truth’,” adding that repeating falsehoods does not make them valid, citing Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. He accused the US administration and what he described as the “genocidal Israeli regime” of spreading systematic disinformation about Iran’s nuclear activities, ballistic missiles, and casualty figures during the January unrest. US President Donald Trump, speaking at the State of the Union, said Iran is the “number one sponsor of terror” and warned it is developing missiles that could eventually reach the United States, while stating he prefers diplomacy over military confrontation.
Trump on Iran: ‘Number 1 sponsor of terror’ can’t get nukes
United States President Donald Trump addressed the State of the Union, emphasizing Iran’s nuclear program. He said the US “will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror … to have a nuclear weapon.” Trump added that he prefers to handle the situation through diplomacy, signaling a desire to avoid military confrontation despite maintaining pressure on Tehran. Trump also claimed Iran is advancing missile technology capable of striking US territory. “They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America,” he said.
NN: Iran must be stopped
WH: Trump prefers diplomacy, but won’t rule out force
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Tuesday that United States President Donald Trump prioritizes diplomacy, but is willing to use “lethal force” against Iran if necessary. Speaking to journalists, Leavit addressed various media reports circulating currently about a potential attack on Iran, saying that they are “completely untrue.” “Anyone speculating to the media, hiding behind an anonymous source, pretending to know what Trump is thinking or a decision he will make with respect to action against Iran has no idea what they’re talking about,” she stressed.
NN: Screw the Iranian civilians. We are talking about protecting the world from these bloodthirsty religious fanatics with hypersonic rockets soon to be tipped with nukes
US pulling non-essential staff from embassy in Beirut amid Iran tensions
The State Department is pulling out non-essential government personnel and their eligible family members from the U.S. embassy in Beirut, a senior State Department official said on Monday, amid growing concerns about the risk of a military conflict with Iran. “We continuously assess the security environment, and based on our latest review, we determined it prudent to reduce our footprint to essential personnel,” said a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The Embassy remains operational with core staff in place. This is a temporary measure intended to ensure the safety of our personnel while maintaining our ability to operate and assist U.S. citizens,” the official said. A source at the U.S. embassy said 50 people had been evacuated, while an official at Beirut airport said 32 embassy staff, along with family members, had flown out of Beirut airport on Monday.
The U.S. has built up one of its biggest military deployments in the Middle East, with President Donald Trump warning on Monday that it will be a “very bad day” for Iran if no deal is reached to solve a longstanding dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran has threatened to strike American bases in the region if it is attacked. “Should employees occupying emergency positions wish to depart post, please review alternative arrangements to fill the emergency position and consult with your regional bureau Executive Office as necessary,” said an internal State Department cable on the pullout, which was seen by Reuters. The State Department on Monday updated its travel advisory for Lebanon, repeating its warning that U.S. citizens should not travel to the country. Remaining embassy personnel are restricted from personal travel without advance permission and additional travel restrictions may be imposed “with little to no notice due to increased security issues or threats,” the advisory said. American interests were repeatedly targeted in Lebanon in the 1980s during the 1975-90 civil war, during which the U.S. held the Iran-backed Hezbollah responsible for attacks including the 1983 suicide bombing against the U.S. Marines’ headquarters in Beirut, which killed 241 servicemen, and a 1983 suicide attack on the U.S. embassy in Beirut that killed 49 embassy staff. The United States wants Iran to give up its nuclear program, but Iran has adamantly refused and denied it is trying to develop an atomic weapon. Washington views enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that he expects to meet with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Geneva on Thursday, adding that there was still “a good chance” of a diplomatic solution. A U.S. official confirmed the meeting. Both sides remain sharply divided – even over the scope and sequencing of relief from crippling U.S. sanctions – following two rounds of talks, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
“I am the one that makes the decision, I would rather have a Deal than not but, if we don’t make a Deal, it will be a very bad day for that Country and, very sadly, its people, because they are great and wonderful, and something like this should never have happened to them,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
On Friday, citing officials on both sides and diplomats across the Gulf and Europe, Reuters reported that Tehran and Washington are sliding rapidly toward military conflict as hopes fade for a diplomatic settlement. It would be the second time the U.S. and Israel have attacked Iran in less than a year, following U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against military and nuclear facilities last June.
NN: Don’t buy into the bullshit. A US attack will not lead to a all out regional war… Just the opposite… It will prevent it. In fact if Trump backs down and accepts another Irian trick negotiation maneuver. The Islamic crazies will declare it a great miracle during Ramadan.
$100 oil in the cards
Oil price spikes to $90-$100 per barrel are “within reach” as the United States and Iran appear close to war, Fereidun Fesharaki, Chairman Emeritus at energy market consultancy FGE NexantECA, told Bloomberg Television on Monday.
“I don’t think the US has a choice but to go to war,” Fesharaki told Bloomberg, adding that he expects something to happen as soon as this coming weekend.
The U.S. and Iran are preparing for last-ditch indirect talks on Thursday in Geneva, according to the Omani mediators. So far, no breakthrough has been reached in the talks. U.S. President Donald Trump last week gave Iran 10-15 days to agree to ditch its nuclear program. “It is very hard for me to see a scenario that they would just avoid this, and turn the ships around and go home,” Fesharaki told Bloomberg TV. “If the Iranians accept what the US says, there is no legitimacy left to the regime anymore; they have to say ‘no’,” the expert added, noting that the talks later this week are bound to fail.
This time around, the oil market may be underestimating the potential consequences as Iran could hit production facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait, or try to block the Strait of Hormuz, according to Fesharaki.
Oil prices of $90 to $100 a barrel are “within reach,” if supply from the Middle East is indeed disrupted, he added. The massive U.S. military buildups near the Middle East suggest that “The US military is ready for a sustained, highly kinetic campaign should President Trump order it, and also prepared to defend allies and partners in the Middle East from Iran’s missiles,” Dana Stroul, a former senior Pentagon official, told Fox News Digital on Sunday. President Trump could consider an initial targeted attack on Iran, but if that fails to persuade Tehran to give up its nuclear enrichment program, the U.S. President could consider a larger campaign in the coming months to oust the current Iranian leadership, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing sources briefed on internal deliberations in the U.S. Administration.
NN: You know my position on this for the past two years.
Largest US aircraft carrier arrives in Greece
USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, arrived in Greek waters on Monday, with the most recent reports placing its location close to the island of Crete. The move comes amid the American military buildup in the Middle East as negotiations on Iran’s nuclear enrichment reach a critical phase. In recent weeks, Washington has amassed its largest concentration of air and naval strike power in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq invasion. The combined air and naval power features dozens of aircraft, and the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is already stationed in the Arabian Sea. The 337-meter USS Gerald R. Ford displaces 100,000 tons and uses two A1B nuclear reactors to generate triple the electrical power of previous carriers, and hosts over 75 aircraft.
NN: Still 7 days away to be in strike distance of Iran from the Gulf of Oman. Its 50 fighters the FA 18 Super Hornets have a fully loaded range of 500 nautical miles
Whistleblower said Trump to attack Iran Monday or Tuesday,,,,, MAYBE
United States President Donald Trump is planning to launch an attack on Iran “on Monday or Tuesday,” former CIA agent and whistleblower John Kiriakou said, citing a White House source. Kiriakou claimed that “a decision has been made” in the White House to attack Iran early next week, after Trump had given the Middle Eastern country ten days to accept US terms. “He’s done this before. He’ll give you ten days, he’ll give you two weeks, and then he’ll just attack two days into that,” he noticed. Furthermore, Kiriakou’s source reportedly claimed that Vice President JD Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard oppose the war, while State Secretary Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth support it.
Arab countries slam US envoy’s M. East comments
Thttps://youtu.be/6XKy4OmWKbUhe Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC), and several Arab countries individually condemned on Saturday United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee’s remarks that Israel has a biblical right to the Middle East. The countries that slammed Huckabee’s comments include Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, which labeled it a violation of international law. In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Huckabee spoke about Israel’s right to the Middle East, adding that “it would be fine if they took it all.”
NN: I known Huck from my Arkansas days A good honest man. And i agree 1000%. But unfortunately i am afraid he has shot himself in the dick.
Likeliest Iran Outcome
Morningstar thinks, a limited U.S. strike on Iranian military or nuclear targets is the likeliest outcome. That’s what according to the company’s equity director Joshua Aguilar, who outlined in a note sent late Thursday that this scenario “would mean no impact on global physical flows, so the global surplus would remain intact”. “Any price action would be due to the geopolitical premium,” he added. In the note, Aguilar highlighted that Morningstar thinks a limited strike event is a base case for several reasons. “First, we’d flag U.S. domestic political incentives,” he said. “U.S. midterm elections take place later this year, and Trump has made keeping inflation down a cornerstone of his platform, which includes prices at the pump,” he added. “Second, we think the U.S. hand is stronger following the capture of Maduro, both from the standpoint of a successful military operation, and because Venezuelan output … gives the U.S. somewhat of a physical, heavy-sour crude buffer that can substitute for Iranian crude exports in the event of a limited strike with some supply disruption,” he continued. “Third, any severe strike would potentially strengthen OPEC+’s hand,” he went on to state. While Aguilar said in the note that a severe strike seems possible, he added that it is much less likely. Aguilar also noted that Morningstar thinks the odds of a Strait of Hormuz closure are remote. He conceded, however, that this “would be the most severe case for global oil prices”. In the note, Aguilar pointed out that global oil benchmarks “have risen significantly since the start of the year”. “Brent futures now trade at nearly $72 per barrel, rising nearly 20 percent since early January,” he said. “This contradicts nearly universal bearish prognostications for crude prices earlier in the year related to supply glut fears,” he added. Aguilar revealed in the note that Morningstar is maintaining its midcycle estimate of $65 per barrel Brent.
P. Morgan report by Natasha Kaneva, the company’s head of global commodities strategy, analysts at J.P. Morgan, including Kaneva, said they “continue to assign a low geopolitical risk premium to the Middle East”. “With affordability and broader economic conditions central to U.S. electoral dynamics, the president must ultimately weigh the economic costs of any strike on Iran ahead of the November mid-term elections,” the analysts said. “Our baseline scenario assumes some form of agreement with Iran and a ceasefire in Ukraine this year. While the probability of military action against Iran has increased, we expect any such action to be surgical and designed to avoid Iran’s oil production and export infrastructure,” they added. “Given the region’s proximity to major energy chokepoints, geopolitically driven crude price rallies may persist, but these should eventually fade as global fundamentals remain relatively soft,” they continued.
In the report, the J.P. Morgan analysts said their balances “continue to project sizable surpluses later this year, suggesting that production cuts of two million barrels per day will be needed to prevent excessive inventory accumulation in 2027, which would help stabilize prices at around $60 per barrel Brent”.
FP Markets Aaron Hill Chief Market Analyst noted that WTI oil prices “continued to clear out offers, refreshing year to date highs of $67.01 in recent trading”. “The bid came on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning to Irann right nowi that it has 10 to 15 days to reach a nuclear deal, or ‘really bad things’ will happen. The U.S. is assembling two aircraft carriers, fighter jets, and refueling tankers in the region,” he added.
NN: Its a massive military build up. It hard for me to believe its simply posturing for negotiations. Trump needs a big win right now, A bringing down Khomeini is just what the polling doctor ordered.
US Amasses Biggest Force Since 2003 as Trump Pushes Iran on Deal
The US military is stationing a vast array of forces in the Middle East, including two aircraft carriers, fighter jets and refueling tankers, with President Donald Trump saying that Iran had 10 to 15 days at most to strike a deal over its nuclear program.“We’re either going to get a deal, or it’s going to be unfortunate for them,” Trump told reporters Thursday aboard Air Force One. On a deadline, Trump said he thought 10 to 15 days was “pretty much” the “maximum” he would allow for negotiations to continue. “I would think that would be enough time,” he said. The deployment is unlike anything the US has done since 2003, when it amassed forces before the invasion of Iraq. It dwarfs the military buildup that Trump ordered off the coast of Venezuela in the weeks before he ousted President Nicolas Maduro. While the US isn’t likely to deploy ground troops, the buildup suggests Trump is giving himself discretion to launch a sustained campaign lasting many days, in cooperation with Israel. While discussions have focused on a sustained campaign far more sweeping than the overnight strikes the US launched against Iran’s nuclear program last June, the president is also weighing a limited early strike designed to drive Tehran to the negotiating table, “Maybe we’re going to make a deal,” Trump said in a speech on Thursday morning. “You’re going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days.” Heightened geopolitical worries over US-Iran tensions sent stocks lower and extended a surge in oil, with Brent crude, the global benchmark, rising above $71 a barrel on Thursday. The open question is whether Iran can possibly satisfy Trump’s demands and whether, by positioning so much military hardware to the region, Trump may feel compelled to use it rather than backing down. Tracking site FlightRadar24’s data shows a surge of flight activity by US military transport, aerial tankers, surveillance aircraft and drones to bases in Qatar, Jordan, Crete and Spain. The aircraft, whose transponders make them visible over land to the tracking site, include KC-46 and KC-135 air-to-air refuelers and C-130J cargo planes used to move troops and heavy equipment. It also includes E-3 Sentry jets equipped with airborne warning and control system radar, which provide “all-altitude and all-weather surveillance” of potential battle zones, as well as RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones. The weapons at Trump’s disposal are formidable. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is accompanied by three Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, which can carry Tomahawk missiles. The carrier’s air wing includes F-35C fighter jets. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the most expensive US warship ever built, at $13 billion, is accompanied by guided missile destroyers, and its associated air wing includes F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets, E-2D airborne early warning aircraft, as well as MH-60S and MH-60R Seahawk helicopters and C-2A Greyhounds. The two carriers provide “more options, and would enable us to conduct operations on a more sustained basis — if it comes to that,” said Michael Eisenstadt, director of military studies for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He said the buildup “signals to the Iranians the need to be more flexible in negotiations.” Trump met with his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and special envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Wednesday for an update on the negotiations with Iran. Officials met in the Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss possible action and were told to expect that all US military forces deployed to the region would be in place by mid-March, according to a US official. A major strike against Iran — where leaders are anxious about regime stability following widespread unrest — risks entangling the US in its third war of choice in the Middle East since 1991, against a more formidable adversary than the US has faced in decades. Trump’s use of the military in his second term has been characterized by short and successful engagements with minimal harm to American troops, including the bombing of Iranian nuclear targets in June, attacking alleged drug-trafficking boats and the raid that extracted Maduro in early January. But if fresh strikes on Iran prompt a wider conflagration, the president could face considerable public pressure. Trump spoke against US engagement in foreign wars on the campaign trail, but has gone on to bomb Iran, Tehran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen and militants in Syria. “With Iran’s air defenses largely neutralized by previous US and Israeli strikes, the US strike fighters would operate largely with impunity over Iranian airspace,” said Bryan Clark, a defense analyst for the Hudson Institute and a former Navy strategy officer. “There is always the risk of downed pilots, but I think the bigger risk is to ships. The same cruise and ballistic missiles the Iranians gave to the Houthis could be turned against US ships in the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea and Red Sea.” Thousands of US servicemembers in the region are also within range of Iranian ballistic missiles, and regime officials have vowed to respond with full force to a US strike. Beyond attacks on US military assets, Iran could try to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Oman and Iran traversed by 25% of maritime oil traffic. The US strikes in June 2025 focused on three sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, but a more ambitious effort to topple the regime in Tehran could involve attacks on sites associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and potentially senior leadership including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But Iran might be able to withstand such decapitation attempts. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Iran was expected to offer a response to the negotiations within “the next couple of weeks,” but did not preclude the possibility of military action before that. “The president will continue to watch how this plays out,” she said.