Matzav

Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday sharply criticized the coordinated U.S.-Israeli military action against Iran, warning that the operation represents a significant and dangerous widening of the conflict.

Mamdani labeled the strikes “a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression.”

“Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war. Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace,” Mamdani said.

The mayor emphasized that his primary concern is the protection of New York City residents. He said he has been in ongoing communication with the city’s Police Commissioner and emergency management leadership, and that precautionary steps are already underway. Those measures include heightened interagency coordination and increased security patrols at locations deemed sensitive.

Mamdani also spoke directly to the city’s Iranian community, describing them as “part of the fabric of this city” and affirming that their safety remains a priority.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris also issued a statement opposing the military campaign, accusing President Donald Trump of pulling the United States into a conflict that she argues lacks public support.

In a February 28, 2026 statement, Harris declared, “Let me be clear: I am opposed to a regime-change war in Iran, and our troops are being put in harm’s way for the sake of Trump’s war of choice.”

She described the strikes as a “dangerous and unnecessary gamble with American lives,” arguing that the action threatens both regional stability and the country’s standing on the world stage. While Harris acknowledged that Iran poses a serious threat and reiterated that it must never be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons, she said military force is not the correct approach to addressing that danger.

Harris also faulted the President’s earlier remarks about Iran, contending that prior assurances about ending wars and about the state of Iran’s nuclear program were inaccurate. She pointed out that the President has conceded the possibility of U.S. casualties as the conflict continues.

“Our troops deserve a Commander-in-Chief who approaches decisions on matters of war and peace with the same steadiness and discipline our troops show every day,” she said, urging Congress to exercise its full authority to prevent deeper American involvement in the fighting.

{Matzav.com}

An Iranian missile attack on central Israel late tonight killed one woman and wounded 21 others, including one person in critical condition and another in serious condition, according to emergency officials.

Three of the injured were listed in moderate condition, while 16 others sustained light injuries.

Rescue and medical teams rushed to two impact sites in the Tel Aviv area where missiles struck residential neighborhoods. Magen David Adom personnel transported a man in serious condition and another victim in moderate condition to the hospital, along with nine individuals who were lightly hurt.

The woman who had been critically injured later succumbed to her wounds.

Officials reported extensive destruction at the strike locations and said there were fears that additional victims could be trapped under debris. Search and rescue operations were continuing.

The Tel Aviv District commander told reporters that two homes suffered direct hits. “This is a serious scene and we are conducting searches. We evacuated five people from one of the homes, but the work is ongoing,” he said.

MDA EMT Ori Garbi described the chaos at the scene. “From the very first moment, it was clear to us that this was a serious scene. We saw thick black smoke rising from a residential building with extensive and significant destruction, cars going up in flames, and great commotion. We quickly established a casualty treatment point near the scene, where we provided medical care to several injured people, some of whom have already been evacuated to the hospital. Among the first casualties who reached us were a man in his 40s who was seriously injured and a man in his 30s in moderate condition. At the same time, together with Home Front Command, fire and police forces, we are conducting additional searches for casualties and actively treating more injured individuals at the scene.”

Air raid sirens sounded across central and northern Israel, as well as in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem, during the barrage. Authorities estimate that 16 missiles were launched in total — eight toward Israel, two toward the United Arab Emirates, two toward Qatar, and two toward Jordan.

After the launches, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it had “launched the third and fourth waves against military and security targets belonging to the US and Israel.”

{Matzav.com}

By Jonathan S. Tobin

The strongest argument that President Donald Trump’s political opponents can muster to decry his decision to order American forces to join with Israel to act against Iran is that he is launching a “war of choice,” rather than seeking to avert an imminent threat to American interests or security. Even his sternest critics, such as the editorial page of The New York Times, acknowledged that the government of Iran is not merely a brutal oppressor and a constant threat to the rest of the Middle East as well as to the West, but also combines a “murderous ideology with nuclear ambitions.”

Every U.S. president for the last quarter-century has asserted that America will never let Iran get a nuclear weapon and was prepared to use force to prevent that from happening. But only Trump seems to have fully grasped the stark nature of the threat that Tehran poses to the United States—and the world.

Halfway measures won’t work

And now, after last year’s U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, followed by a renewed effort at diplomacy that predictably failed due to the Islamists’ intransigence, he has faced up to the choice that the West has always confronted with respect to Iran. The Iranian threat cannot be ignored, reasoned with or appeased. It cannot be pressured through sanctions or bribed, as former President Barack Obama once put it, “to get right with the world.” Halfway measures that combine threats of force with elements of other approaches also won’t work.

Since they seized power 47 years ago, leaders of the Islamic Republic have been animated by one big idea—a religious war to the death against the non-Islamic world. Their slogans of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” are not talking points or empty rhetoric. They are the essential purpose of the regime’s existence. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. It is responsible for numerous attacks on Western and American attack, as well as for helping to foment and organize the genocidal war waged against Israel by its main terrorist auxiliaries and allies: Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

And that is why Trump’s willingness to declare his intention to topple the Islamist regime is not so much a “war of choice” as one of necessity. It has been put off for decades by his predecessors, who lacked the vision or the will to see that the West simply cannot allow a government whose aim is to spread terror and intimidate America and its allies to continue to carry out those threats.

In the end, it will be up to the Iranian people, who have in recent months taken to the streets to protest their oppressors and been slaughtered by them in the tens of thousands, to seize control in Tehran. Neither the United States nor Israel seeks to occupy Iran or impose a government on it. It is hoped that some regime elements will conclude that Iran must change and work with protesters to end the long Islamist reign of terror there. But both nations are entirely in the right in acting to strip this murderous regime of its military hardware and facilities that would fulfill its ambitions for weapons of mass destruction, as well as to take out its criminal leaders.

Undoing the mistakes of his predecessors

Seen in that context, Trump’s bold move is neither reckless nor an invitation to another “forever” war to bog down American forces and drain them of their ability to resist aggression elsewhere in the world. It is, instead, a long-put-off and entirely necessary action designed to prevent the Islamic regime from continuing its destructive and bloody war on the West.

If there is anything the world should have come to understand in the last 47 years, it is that there is no living with a regime wedded to a generational jihad against all those who do not share its medieval religious fanaticism, including Western nations, Israel and Arab nations who want no part of this mad quest. Nothing short of its overthrow will be enough to stop its long-running campaign first to destroy Israel and then the West.

That is a stark truth that the Western and American foreign-policy establishment has spent the last few decades trying to ignore.

Former President George W. Bush, distracted by his unsuccessful wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, prevaricated on Iran, leaving the problem to his successors. Obama sought to appease Tehran. His 2015 nuclear pact actually guaranteed that the regime would get a nuclear weapon rather than preventing it. That empowered and enriched the mullahs, thus increasing the Islamist regime’s ability to inflict terror and instability throughout the Middle East, and to advance its quest for regional hegemony. Former President Joe Biden ineffectively sought to revive that same failed policy.

In his first term, Trump correctly understood that sooner or later, an American leader was going to have to face up to the disaster that Obama had created. He abandoned the nuclear deal in May 2018 and sought, via a “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions, to force Tehran to understand that it must not only abandon its nuclear quest but its war on the West and Israel as well. The religious fanatics who run Iran might never have surrendered their ambitions, and we will never know if that approach would have succeeded had Trump been re-elected in 2020. Biden’s decision to return to Obama’s disastrous policies and effectively end sanctions ensured that diplomacy would never succeed in dealing with the threat. And then, the spectacle of America’s disastrous and rapid retreat from Afghanistan in August 2021 helped convince Tehran that the United States was too weak and feckless to resist it.

Those colossal blunders led directly to Iran’s renewed push to dominate the Middle East and eliminate all obstacles to that goal. The Hamas-led, Palestinian-Arab terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, were the most obvious result of Biden’s retreat.

The subsequent war, however, didn’t work out as Iran’s “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei thought it would.

Israel was unprepared and badly damaged on Oct. 7. But despite the efforts of the Biden administration to hamstring its war of self-defense against Hamas in Gaza and Iran’s Hezbollah auxiliaries in Lebanon, which started attacking from the north on Oct. 8, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF persevered, and the terrorists weren’t granted impunity for their crimes. That happened amid an international propaganda campaign on social media, in city streets and on college campuses aimed at demonizing the Jewish state. Though Hamas was allowed to survive in part of the Strip and should not be left in place, it is badly weakened. Just as important, Hezbollah and its arsenal, which was long thought to be too strong for Israel to challenge, suffered devastating defeats in 2024.

That, in turn, led to the fall of the Syrian government—led by longtime dictator and Iran ally Bashar Assad—in December of that same year.

A historic opportunity

These catastrophic reversals of fortune also had the effect of reviving efforts by the majority of the Iranian people, who oppose its repressive regime, to take to the streets these past two months and seek an end to the mullahs’ tyranny. The subsequent mass murder of civilians again illustrated to the world the necessity of no longer tolerating or enabling these Islamist oppressors. The weakness of its rulers, along with the 12-day joint U.S.-Israel military offensive that degraded three nuclear sites last June, gave Washington the chance to make history and change the direction of the Middle East from one dominated by Iranian terror to one where reason can prevail.

Still, Trump gave diplomacy another try, sending his Mideast envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to meet with Iran’s representatives and attempt to work out a deal that would, unlike Obama’s pact, actually end the nuclear threat and avoid more fighting.

But rather than choosing to take advantage of this offer, the regime behaved as it has always done—refusing to seriously negotiate while clinging to its “right” to have a nuclear program and refusing to discuss its missiles or terrorism. While their delaying tactics worked like a charm on Obama and his envoys, who eventually bowed to all of Iran’s major demands, Trump was having none of it.

As with so much of what Trump has done with respect to Israel, this again proves that it is the president—and not his liberal and left-wing critics—who grasps the hardcore realities of the region. Putting off a confrontation that strips the Islamist regime of its ability to go on threatening the world hasn’t worked. Drastic action that will topple the mullahs can no longer be put off.

Trump’s opponents and those who have been cheering on the war Tehran was waging on Israel and the West speak of the unintended consequences of this conflict and how they may undermine American interests. But what he is doing is merely a long-postponed push to cope with the consequences of past efforts to appease Iran that led to so much spilled blood. That was the result of Washington following the establishment thinking that Trump has rightly rejected.

A fight to defend American interests

This is no rerun of Bush’s Iraq war. Nor has Trump failed to make the case for dealing with the Islamist regime. Like those who pushed for ceasefires after Oct. 7, the failure to finish off the government that has been waging war on the West and Israel throughout its existence has brought continued war rather than peace.

Nor, despite the claims of the conspiracy theorists and antisemites that increasingly dominate the conversation on both the left and the far right, is this a war that Jerusalem has pushed Washington into waging. Iran’s efforts to annihilate the State of Israel and aid global entities intent on slaughtering Jews are reason enough to make the regime’s end a desirable goal. But in confronting a government that has never wavered from its pursuit of a war on the West, Trump is defending the interests of the United States and its citizens. An evil terrorist regime armed with nukes and missiles is a direct threat to Americans and the civilized world. Throughout its history, it has never hesitated to kill innocents or to seek to harm allies of the United States.

Apologists for Iran and its genocidal goals—on both the left and the right, whether motivated by hatred for Trump or Israel—are outraged by Washington’s decision. It is possible, as some fear, that failure in Iran will boost these destructive forces. But defeat is not an option for the United States, Israel or the West. One way or another, the Iranian regime cannot be allowed to go on terrorizing the world. It must be defeated, and then hopefully replaced, with one that will forsake the nukes, missiles and terror that far too long rendered it an outlaw rogue state.

Trump has shown that he dares to defy the conventional wisdom that the Washington liberal establishment has used to justify inaction or appeasement of Iran. As he did when he moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, pulled out of the disastrous nuclear deal with Iran, brokered the Abraham Accords and then joined with Israel to inflict grave damage last summer on Tehran’s nuclear program, the president is again correct to refuse to listen to his critics. Though the path ahead will present grave challenges and dangers the administration and its Israeli allies must successfully navigate, the decision to strike—and to topple the mullahs—was both wise and necessary. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu said today that the joint military operation with the United States was launched to remove “the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran,” while thanking our “great friend, President Donald Trump, for his historic leadership.”

In addition to explaining the geopolitical considerations that led to the operation, which he titled “Operation Roaring Lion,” Netanyahu, who spoke in Hebrew, highlighted its symbolic dimensions. He noted that it’s happening in the lead-up to Purim, a Jewish holiday whose story is set in Persia and in which Jews thwart a scheme to annihilate them.

Netanyahu stressed that for decades, the ayatollah “has spilled our blood, murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people. This murderous terrorist regime must not arm itself with nuclear weapons that would allow it to threaten all of humanity.

“Our joint action will create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands. The time has come for all segments of the Iranian people—the Persians, the Kurds, the Azeris, the Baluchis and the Ahwazis—to throw off the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peace-loving Iran,” continued Netanyahu.

The prime minister emphasized that in the coming days the Israeli home front will be required to demonstrate “endurance and fortitude.”

“Together we will stand, together we will fight, and together we will ensure the eternity of Israel,” he said.

In two days, Netanyahu said, “we will celebrate the holiday of Purim. In ancient Persia 2,500 years ago, a tyrant arose against us with the exact same goal—to annihilate our people. But Mordechai the Jew and Queen Esther, through their courage and wisdom, saved our people.”

In those days of Purim, he added, “the die was cast—and the wicked Haman fell with it. Today as well, the die has been cast—and the evil regime, too, will fall.”

Netanyahu then quoted the Prophet Amos, who said: “The lion has roared—who will not fear?” In “Operation Roaring Lion,” Netanyahu said, “We roar. Do not fear, Israel. You have risen like a lion’s cub. We will stand as one people, with one heart, and with God’s help we will secure the eternity of Israel.”

Netanyahu returned to Trump in his speech, adding, “I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart President Donald Trump, the American people and the American military. President Trump is not only Israel’s greatest friend in the White House of all time, he is also a determined leader of the free world. He looks to future generations, decides what is good for America, and acts with responsibility and courage.”

Adressing the people of Israel, whom he called “my brothers and sisters,” the Israeli prime minister said: “In your name, citizens of Israel, I salute the commanders and soldiers of the IDF, our Air Force, Military Intelligence, the Mossad, the men and women of the security forces, and the men and women of the rescue services. I salute their courage and the power of their actions. And I say to you: An entire nation stands behind you. An entire nation prays for your success.”

He added in English: “Help has arrived.” JNS

Two hundred fighter jets streaked across Israel’s skies with a thunderous roar, in “the largest military flyover” in Israeli Air Force history, the Israel Defense Forces said today.

“The IDF completed an extensive attack against the missile array and the defense systems of the Iranian terror regime in western and central Iran,” the military said in a statement.

The operation, based on high-quality military intelligence, involved hundreds of munitions targeting roughly 500 objectives, including surface-to-surface missile launchers and aerial defense systems.

The strikes significantly degraded Iran’s anti-aircraft capabilities and thwarted planned missile attacks against Israeli civilian population centers.

Among the targets was a missile site near Tabriz, used by Iran’s surface-to-surface missile units and assessed as a launch point for planned large-scale attacks on Israel.

The IDF said the destruction of key air defense systems enabled Israeli aircraft to operate more freely over Iranian territory, expanding aerial superiority and reducing threats to both IAF planes and Israeli civilians.

 

The operation follows Israel’s June 2025 campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure, which severely degraded Tehran’s air defense network and contributed to Israel’s ability to quickly establish effective control of the skies over key operational areas.

The military said operations remain ongoing, adding that Israel will continue efforts to degrade “every aspect of the Iranian regime.”

JNS

President Donald Trump said today that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed during the coordinated U.S.-Israeli military assault on Iran. Israeli officials have likewise stated that Khamenei was eliminated, but Iranian authorities have rejected those claims and no independent public confirmation has yet emerged. The Israeli military has released the names of additional senior Iranian figures it says were killed in the strikes.

Trump indicated that the campaign is far from over, declaring that the operation would continue “uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective,” signaling that sustained airstrikes are planned as he openly promotes regime change in Tehran.

Explosions and air raid sirens continued to echo across parts of the region, with CNN teams reporting blasts in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel. Those countries have been central targets of Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes aimed at U.S. military installations and other strategic sites.

U.S. intelligence assessments had previously suggested that if Iran’s leadership were toppled, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — the country’s powerful hard-line military force — would likely move quickly to assert control. However, intelligence officials have acknowledged uncertainty over how such a transition would unfold. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in January that “no one knows” who would assume power if the current regime collapses.

Across the Middle East, Iran’s network of allied militant groups strongly condemned the U.S.-Israeli operation against their patron state. So far, however, none of those proxy forces has formally announced direct involvement in retaliatory action. In past crises, those groups moved swiftly to support Tehran, though analysts note that many have been weakened in recent years.

A senior administration official said U.S. leaders believed Iran was preparing possible preemptive missile attacks, a development that factored into Trump’s decision to launch the offensive. The same official added that Trump concluded Iran’s leadership was not willing to abandon its nuclear enrichment ambitions, reinforcing the decision to proceed with military action.

In parts of Tehran on Saturday night, celebrations and cheering were reportedly heard following reports that Khamenei had been killed.

Meanwhile, Rubio’s previously scheduled trip to Israel on Monday has been canceled, the State Department confirmed.

The White House said Trump held phone calls Saturday with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Later, the White House announced a travel and photo lid, indicating that the President was not expected to make any additional public appearances before reporters for the remainder of the day.

{Matzav.com}

The United States and Israel carried out coordinated military strikes against Iran on Saturday following weeks of warnings from President Donald Trump regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, dramatically escalating tensions across the Middle East.

According to reports, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike conducted with U.S. backing. Iranian authorities have not officially confirmed his death.

Israeli and American forces began the operation with a series of air and missile strikes targeting key Iranian sites. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the purpose of the joint campaign was to quote “remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.”

In a video message, Netanyahu added: “Our joint action will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”

A person briefed on the military effort said the campaign was expected to continue for several days, with Israel’s armed forces concentrating on dismantling Iran’s missile infrastructure.

President Trump addressed the operation in a video posted to Truth Social at 2:30 a.m. ET, describing what he called “major combat operations” that are “massive and ongoing” in Iran. He said the mission was aimed at “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats” from Iran.

The attacks followed a week of indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear activities. A third round of talks on Thursday involving Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner did not produce a diplomatic breakthrough.

According to individuals familiar with the operation, the strikes specifically targeted Iran’s top leadership, including Khamenei and the Iranian president, in what was described as an attempt to eliminate them. Trump later announced on social media that Khamenei had been killed, stating that he could not evade U.S. intelligence and surveillance capabilities. Sources briefed on the matter said Israeli assessments concluded that Khamenei had been struck, and NPR later reported being told by a person informed about the strike that he had died.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that one of the U.S.-Israeli strikes hit a girls school, killing at least 53 young female students and injuring dozens more.

In the aftermath of the operation, Trump urged Iranian civilians to act against their leadership. He encouraged innocent Iranians to “take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations” once what the Pentagon is calling “Operation Epic Fury” concludes. Trump has previously cited the Iranian regime’s treatment of protesters as a potential justification for U.S. military action.

Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the airstrikes as a “gross violation” of national sovereignty and vowed a forceful response.

Regional fallout followed quickly. The United Arab Emirates’ Defense Ministry reported that Iranian ballistic missiles targeted the country, which hosts U.S. forces at multiple bases.

Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan were all reportedly targeted by Iranian missiles. Each of those countries hosts American troops. Bahrain’s government said the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet service center in Manama was struck, while other nations reported intercepting incoming missiles. The UAE said debris from a missile interception killed an Asian migrant worker. Loud explosions were reported over Dubai by a correspondent on the ground.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump on Friday suggested that the United States could pursue what he described as a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, saying the island’s government is in serious trouble and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is handling discussions at a senior level.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House before departing for Texas, Trump said Cuba’s leadership has been engaging with Washington as the country faces severe economic hardship.

“The Cuban government is talking with us, and they’re in a big deal of trouble,” Trump said. “They have no money. They have no anything right now, but they’re talking with us, and maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba.”

Trump portrayed Cuba as a struggling nation in need of change and said he has long been aware of its difficulties.

“I can see that happening. Marco Rubio is dealing on it and at a very high level,” he said. “They have no money, they have no oil, they have no food. And it’s really right now a nation in deep trouble and they want our help.”

Cuban officials have publicly stated that they are not engaged in formal high-level negotiations with the United States. However, they have not directly rejected reports suggesting that U.S. officials may be holding informal discussions with Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, the grandson of former Cuban President Raul Castro.

Reports indicate that Rubio has been involved in discreet contacts related to Cuba, including recent meetings between U.S. officials close to him and Rodriguez Castro during a regional Caribbean Community conference in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Relations between Washington and Havana have intensified in recent days following a deadly maritime incident. Cuban forces this week killed four exiles and wounded six others after a Florida-registered speedboat entered Cuban waters and opened fire on a Cuban patrol. Rubio denied that the episode was a U.S. operation and said no U.S. government personnel were involved.

The incident occurred as the United States has sharply restricted oil shipments to Cuba, increasing economic pressure on the Communist government.

Last month, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, removing a key ally of Cuba from power.

Rubio has been sharply critical of the Cuban government in recent weeks, arguing that the current situation on the island is unsustainable and that Cuba must change “dramatically.”

Many Cuban exiles, particularly those concentrated in Miami, have long hoped for the collapse or overthrow of the government established by the late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Trump referenced the large Cuban-American community, suggesting that a U.S. role in Cuba could be beneficial.

“We have people living here that want to go back to Cuba, and they’re very happy with what’s going on,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

Several countries on Friday cautioned their citizens against traveling to Israel and Iran as regional tensions intensified and President Donald Trump weighed the possibility of military action against the Islamic Republic.

France’s Foreign Ministry renewed its advisory urging French nationals to avoid travel to Israel, Jerusalem, and Judea and Samaria, including for tourism or family visits, citing the current security climate.

French officials also called on citizens already in the region to exercise “great vigilance and prudence,” steer clear of protests and large gatherings, and familiarize themselves with the locations of nearby shelters.

The United Kingdom announced that it had temporarily moved some diplomatic personnel and their family members from Tel Aviv to another site within Israel as a precautionary step amid escalating tensions. Britain’s Foreign Office said its embassy in Tel Aviv remains fully operational but warned that the security situation “could escalate quickly” and that border crossings by air and land might close without advance notice.

British authorities further advised against all but essential travel to Israel and continued to recommend avoiding certain areas entirely.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry issued what it described as an “urgent” warning against travel to Israel.

“Travel to Israel and East Jerusalem is urgently discouraged,” the ministry stated in an advisory posted on its website.

Italy’s Foreign Ministry, for its part, urged its citizens to leave Iran and advised heightened caution across the broader Middle East.

“Italians in (Iran) for tourism or whose presence is not strictly necessary are urged to depart,” the ministry said, adding that travel to Iraq and Lebanon is also strongly discouraged.

Italian officials also advised nationals currently in Israel to exercise maximum caution and remain alert.

The wave of advisories followed an announcement by the U.S. Embassy in Israel that it was evacuating non-essential staff and their family members due to “security risks.”

At the same time, the U.S. State Department updated its travel advisory and encouraged American citizens to consider departing Israel.

Trump addressed the rising tensions on Friday, saying he had not yet made a final determination on whether to launch a strike against Iran. He expressed dissatisfaction with Tehran’s conduct in negotiations but indicated that further diplomatic discussions were planned.

“I haven’t made a decision on Iran. I am not happy with how they negotiate,” the President said, adding that additional talks would take place on Friday.

When asked about the possibility of military action, Trump responded, “I don’t want to, but sometimes you have to.”

{Matzav.com}

IAEA Says It Cannot Verify Iran’s Nuclear Activity After Denied Access to Bombed Sites

A confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, distributed to member states and obtained Friday by The Associated Press, states that Iran has refused to grant inspectors access to nuclear facilities that were struck by Israel and the United States during last June’s 12-day war.

According to the document, the agency’s inability to enter the damaged sites has left it unable to determine whether Tehran has halted uranium enrichment or to accurately evaluate the size and status of its enriched uranium reserves.

While Iran has four declared enrichment facilities, the IAEA reported that it “cannot provide any information on the current size, composition or whereabouts of the stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran.”

The report warned that the ongoing “loss of continuity of knowledge” regarding Iran’s nuclear program presents an urgent concern for international oversight.

In correspondence dated February 2, Iran informed the agency that standard safeguards were “legally untenable and materially impracticable” in light of threats and what it described as “acts of aggression.” The report added that, since June 2025, Iranian authorities have permitted inspectors at least one visit to facilities not impacted by the strikes, with the exception of a power plant under construction in Karun.

Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is required to cooperate with the IAEA. However, following the June conflict, Tehran suspended its formal collaboration with the watchdog agency.

The IAEA estimates that Iran currently holds 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity — a level close to the 90 percent threshold considered weapons-grade. Experts have indicated that such a stockpile, if further refined, could theoretically be sufficient for as many as 10 nuclear weapons. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has previously stated that Iran does not presently possess nuclear bombs.

Ordinarily, uranium enriched to such high levels would be subject to monthly verification. But because inspectors have been denied physical access to the sites since June, the agency has instead relied on commercially available satellite imagery to track developments.

Satellite images of the Isfahan facility, roughly 350 kilometers southeast of Tehran, show what the agency described as “regular vehicular activity” near a tunnel complex believed to house enriched material. Activity has also been detected at the Natanz and Fordow enrichment plants, though without on-site inspections, the IAEA says it cannot determine the purpose or nature of what is taking place there.

The report further noted that Grossi took part in U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations held in Geneva on February 17 and February 26, during which he “provided advice” related to verification measures for Iran’s nuclear program.

Although no agreement was announced after Thursday’s round of talks, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, said progress had been made and confirmed that “technical talks” would continue next week in Vienna, Austria. U.S. officials told Axios that the discussions were positive.

{Matzav.com}

IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin sought to reassure the public on Friday as regional tensions mounted and speculation grew about a possible strike on Iran, stating that the military remains on heightened alert but that no changes have been made to civilian instructions.

In a message posted to social media shortly before the start of Shabbos, Defrin addressed growing public unease.

“I am aware of the sense of uncertainty and the tension prevailing in the public due to the regional developments. The IDF is closely monitoring the situation in Iran and is on high alert and ready to defend you. There is no change in the guidelines; if there is any change, I will be here, and we will warn accordingly. Shabbat Shalom to everyone,” he wrote.

His remarks followed a series of diplomatic and security developments earlier in the day.

Hours before Defrin’s statement, the U.S. Embassy in Israel announced that it was evacuating non-essential staff members and their families because of “security risks.”

At the same time, the U.S. State Department revised its travel advisory and encouraged American citizens to consider departing Israel.

The heightened tensions come after U.S. and Iranian officials met Thursday in Geneva for another round of negotiations, as the United States continues a significant military buildup in the region surrounding Iran.

Although no agreement was reached at the conclusion of the talks, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, said progress had been made and confirmed that “technical talks” would resume next week in Vienna, Austria. U.S. officials told Axios that the discussions were positive.

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit Israel next week for high-level discussions focused on Iran and other key regional issues, the State Department announced Friday, as Washington continues to expand its military presence in the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Tehran.

According to the State Department, Rubio’s trip will take place March 2-3. During his visit, he is expected to hold talks on Iran as well as broader regional matters, including developments in Lebanon and President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

{Matzav.com}

A shmuess delivered by Rav Simcha Klein.

WATCH:

https://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/About-AI-Generated-Videos-of-Gedolei-Yisroel-1.mp3

President Donald Trump said Friday that he has not determined whether the United States will carry out a military strike against Iran, expressing dissatisfaction with Tehran’s conduct in negotiations while confirming that additional diplomatic discussions are scheduled.

“I haven’t made a decision on Iran. I am not happy with how they negotiate,” the President said, noting that further talks would take place on Friday.

Addressing the prospect of military action, Trump acknowledged the possibility but signaled reluctance. “I don’t want to, but sometimes you have to,” he said.

Trump reiterated his position that Iran must not obtain nuclear weapons and criticized Tehran’s stance in the ongoing negotiations, saying that “Iran isn’t saying the golden words, ‘No nuclear weapon’” in talks with the US.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Embassy in Israel announced that non-essential staff and family members would be evacuated because of “security risks.”

At the same time, the State Department revised its travel advisory and encouraged American citizens to consider departing Israel.

The latest developments come after U.S. and Iranian officials met Thursday in Geneva for another round of negotiations, as the United States continues a significant military buildup in the region surrounding Iran. No agreement was announced after the meeting, but Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, said progress had been made and confirmed that “technical talks” would continue next week in Vienna, Austria. U.S. officials told Axios that the discussions were positive.

{Matzav.com}

In a surprising spiritual initiative ahead of Purim, Knesset Member Moshe Abutbul has begun distributing printed copies of the laws of kemitzah to shuls and batei midrash throughout Israel, encouraging their study as a merit for the salvation of the Jewish people during a time of heightened security tensions and threats from Iran.

Abutbul’s office has circulated professionally printed booklets featuring the Rambam’s codification of the laws of kemitzah — the Bais Hamikdosh procedure in which a kohen would remove a handful of flour from a meal offering. The goal, according to Abutbul, is to inspire focused study of these laws on Purim as a spiritual protection for Klal Yisroel and as a show of support for talmidei chachomim.

Explaining the basis for the initiative, Abutbul cited the well-known teaching in Gemara Megillah that links the concept of kemitzah to the downfall of Haman. He recounted that when Haman sought out Mordechai to dress him in royal garments at King Achashverosh’s command, he found him studying Torah with his students. When Haman asked what they were learning, they replied that in the time of the Beis Hamikdash, one who brought a meal offering would present a handful of fine flour, which would atone for him. Haman then remarked that their “handful of flour” had outweighed the ten thousand talents of silver he had given Achashverosh in his plot to destroy the Jewish people.

Abutbul said that after consulting with prominent rabbanim, he was advised that in these days of internal and external conflict, with Iran once again issuing threats of war against Israel, it would be appropriate to adopt this spiritual approach on Purim. Studying the laws of kemitzah, he said, could help elevate the fortune of the Jewish people and strengthen the standing of talmidei chachomim, who protect the nation through their learning.

Along with the printed materials, Abutbul’s office included explanatory notes emphasizing the importance of studying these laws on Purim as a spiritual safeguard. The initiative concludes with a prayer that, just as in the days of Mordechai and Esther, the fortunes of the Jewish people will once again rise, fulfilling the posuk of LaYehudim: “For the Jews there was light and joy.”

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday to promote a sweeping affordable housing proposal, presenting the president with a mock newspaper front page touting the potential impact of major new federal investment in the city.

During the visit, Mamdani handed Trump a fabricated front page styled after the New York Daily News, crafted to highlight the scale and political resonance of the proposal. The headline read “Trump to City: Let’s Build,” echoing the paper’s well-known 1975 cover declaring “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” which referenced Gerald Ford’s pledge at the time to veto financial aid for New York City.

The approach appeared tailored to Trump’s well-known interest in media coverage. The president closely follows both national cable news and local New York publications, and aides to Mamdani said the presentation was designed to underscore how a large federal housing commitment could be received publicly. Mamdani later shared a photo from the Oval Office meeting on social media, prominently featuring the mock front page.

Anna Bahr, Mamdani’s communications director, said the mayor’s staff created the sample headlines to illustrate the positive reaction they believe a major housing partnership would generate. According to Bahr, Trump responded favorably to the proposal, which centers on constructing a platform over Sunnyside Yard in Queens and building 12,000 affordable housing units there.

Bahr said the president was “very enthusiastic” about Mamdani’s proposal, which would involve securing more than $21 billion in federal grants to deck over the rail yard and enable construction. City Hall estimates the development would generate 30,000 jobs and represent the largest housing and infrastructure initiative in more than half a century.

The meeting followed an earlier White House sit-down between the two in November, when Trump encouraged Mamdani to return with a bold proposal for collaboration in New York City. Despite repeatedly attacking Mamdani as a “communist” during the mayoral campaign, Trump struck a warmer tone after their previous one-on-one discussion in the Oval Office.

Thursday’s meeting, which had not been publicly scheduled in advance, lasted roughly an hour. In addition to housing, Mamdani raised concerns about the detention of Ellie Aghayeva, a Columbia University student from Azerbaijan who had been arrested earlier that day by federal immigration agents.

According to Aghayeva’s lawyers and Columbia’s president, immigration authorities gained entry to a campus residence by saying they were looking for a “missing person.” Mamdani asked Trump to review her case and consider her release.

Shortly after the White House meeting concluded, Trump called the mayor and informed him that Aghayeva would be released. Mamdani also provided White House chief of staff Susie Wiles with the names of four additional students facing federal action and requested assistance from the administration.

Those students — Mahmoud Khalil, Yunseo Chung, Mohsen Mahdawi and Leqaa Kordia — were detained in connection with pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Of the four, only Kordia remains in custody, though legal proceedings are ongoing in each case.

“Mayor Mamdani is absolutely right to call on President Trump to release Leqaa Kordia, the beloved daughter of an American citizen,” Hamzah Abushaban, Kordia’s cousin, said in a statement. “For nearly a year, my cousin Leqaa has been locked away in ICE detention, robbed of precious birthdays, holidays, and irreplaceable moments with her family. She has endured fear, isolation, and even suffered a seizure while trapped behind those walls. This is not justice. This is not humanity.”

{12}

The U.S. State Department has authorized non-essential personnel and family members of diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Israel to leave the country, as concerns intensify that a military confrontation with Iran could be imminent.

In an email sent Friday morning to staff at the Jerusalem mission, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged those who wish to depart to act without delay, advising that they “should do so TODAY.”

“Focus on getting a seat to anyplace from which you can then continue travel to DC,” added the former Arkansas governor in the message, first reported by the New York Times, “but the first priority will be getting expeditiously out of country.”

Huckabee said the authorization for voluntary departures was taken out of “an abundance of caution.”

“There is no need to panic,” he wrote, “but for those desiring to leave, it’s important to make plans to depart sooner rather than later.”

The warning came after indirect talks between U.S. and Iranian officials in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday regarding Tehran’s nuclear program ended without progress. Further negotiations are expected to resume next week in Vienna, Austria.

Amid the diplomatic stalemate, officials are bracing for the possibility that Iran could respond to any U.S. military action with ballistic missile strikes against Israel.

During the 12-day war with Iran this past June, 33 Israelis were killed and more than 3,200 were wounded in missile and drone attacks.

As Thursday’s discussions wrapped up, Iranian state television reported that Tehran remains committed to continuing uranium enrichment, opposes transferring enriched material abroad, and is demanding the immediate removal of international sanctions. The report said Iran rejected three demands presented by U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Iran’s leadership has also declined to expand the negotiations to include its ballistic missile arsenal or its backing of terror organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Although the White House did not issue an official statement on the Geneva talks, Vice President JD Vance told the Washington Post “there is no chance” that a U.S. strike on Iran would spiral into a prolonged war in the Middle East.

“I think we all prefer the diplomatic option,” the vice president added. “But it really depends on what the Iranians do and what they say.”

Reports indicate that President Trump is weighing several potential courses of action, including targeted attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, as well as possible “decapitation” strikes aimed at eliminating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures in an effort to pave the way for regime change.

{Matzav.com}

Digital advertisements mounted on top of New York City yellow cabs that read “Not gonna hide my Jewish star for a free bus ride” — a pointed reference to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for free buses — were abruptly removed after media coverage brought attention to them.

According to a transcript of a video meeting, Jamie Lowe, executive vice president of the ad placement company Somo, informed representatives of the Jewish advocacy group JewBelong that the ads were taken down following backlash.

“You saw the article that ran in the NY Post today, you can imagine that it created a buzz, which it did … But the ad that’s running is obviously somewhat anti- the mayor of New York City,” Lowe said during the Tuesday call.

He added, “There were complaints across the board this morning to us, to the New York City Taxi Commission, and I’ll… I’ll leave it at that.”

Lowe later clarified that he had spoken not with the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which is overseen by Mamdani, but with Ron Sherman, head of the Metropolitan Taxi Board of Trade, an organization representing roughly a quarter of the city’s taxi industry.

“Just as the New York Post article said, it’s the slap of Mandami. That’s the challenge that we have,” Lowe told JewBelong co-founder Stacy Stuart and public relations representative Jenny McIntosh during the meeting.

JewBelong, which focuses on combating antisemitism, said the removal marked the first time in its five-year history that one of its advertisements had been censored.

During the discussion, Lowe acknowledged concern about drawing the ire of City Hall.

“I personally will be careful in running advertising that is somewhat, attacking City Hall or the mayor. So, I would say, yes, the political nature of the bus comment, and the mayor reference at this point in time is the challenge,” Lowe said.

Lowe and another sales representative proposed revising the ad to eliminate the apparent criticism of Mamdani’s transportation initiative, but JewBelong declined to alter the message.

He pointed to contractual language that, according to the transcript, allows his company to “reject or cancel any ad at any time without liability.”

JewBelong representatives argued that the decision amounted to suppressing a campaign intended to confront antisemitism.

“Why are Jewish voices being silenced in New York City at the very moment antisemitism is surging? Our taxi campaign was created to garner attention and start a conversation about the compromises many Jews feel pressured to make about visibility and identity amid rising antisemitism,” said JewBelong co-founder Archie Gottesman.

“Pulling it sends a chilling message that speaking out against hate is acceptable, until it makes someone uncomfortable. We refuse to be silent.”

The Anti-Defamation League also criticized the removal of the ads.

“If acknowledging that Jewish New Yorkers sometimes feel compelled to hide visible symbols of their identity is considered controversial, that should alarm all of us,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

“Suppressing awareness does not reduce antisemitism, especially at a time when we are seeing an alarming amount of antisemitic incidents,” he said.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission denied any involvement in the decision to remove the rooftop ads.

“We’re not aware of any complaints to the TLC related to these ads and we certainly haven’t asked for them to be removed,” said TLC spokesman Jason Kersten.

“We respect free speech, and for us to take any action the ads would have to violate our rules related to rooftop advertising, which these clearly don’t.”

Under TLC regulations, rooftop advertising providers “must not display advertising that is offensive to public morals” or violate criminal law.

The dispute over the advertisements unfolds against the backdrop of ongoing tension between Mamdani and some members of the Jewish community.

{Matzav.com}

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has decided not to move forward with a felony assault charge against one of the men accused of throwing snowballs at NYPD officers during a chaotic confrontation in Washington Square Park, reducing the most serious count at his court appearance Thursday.

Gusmane Coulibaly, 27, had initially been charged with assault on a police officer, obstruction of governmental administration, and disorderly conduct for his alleged role in what authorities described as a large-scale snowball incident in the park.

At his arraignment Thursday evening, prosecutors declined to pursue the assault-on-an-officer charge. The remaining counts were scaled back to harassment and obstruction of governmental administration, classified as a second-degree violation and a misdemeanor, according to the criminal complaint.

Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, pushed back strongly against the decision, rejecting suggestions that the episode was harmless fun. He told reporters that the purported “playful snowball fight” was “an attack on the uniform these police officers wear every day.”

“This was a grown adult that was here. Our police officers went to this location, on the rooftop, for a disorderly group, came down, and they were surrounded by hundreds of individuals who then attacked all police officers,” Hendry said.

Hendry further alleged that Coulibaly and three other suspects who have not yet been apprehended deliberately hardened the snowballs with ice and rocks before throwing them at officers. He criticized what he described as a minimization of the incident through the reduced charges.

“So why wasn’t assault charged? Why was harassment charged? Why do they feel that that didn’t cause an injury to a police officer, which he clearly, clearly has an injury below his eye?” Hendry said.

In court, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Victoria Notaro acknowledged that one officer, identified only as “PO Johnson,” experienced redness, tenderness, and pain on the left side of his face near his eye. However, she stated that it was difficult to establish “that the injury was obtained directly from the defendant.”

Hendry said the officer remains on sick leave and is “on the mend.”

Coulibaly did not speak during the proceeding. His attorney, George Vomvolakis, argued that the police department was channeling frustration over Mayor Zohran Mamdani toward his client, whom he described as an aspiring social media personality.

Vomvolakis echoed the characterization offered by Mamdani in the immediate aftermath of the incident, when the mayor said those involved were “kids doing snowballs.” He also repeatedly referred to Coulibaly as being 22 years old, though court records list his age as 27.

While Vomvolakis sought to portray the matter as a minor infraction akin to a “glorified summons,” insisting that Coulibaly “had no idea what the intent was” when he allegedly threw the snowball, Judge Michelle Weber disagreed, stating that his participation “showed a complete lack of judgment.”

The judge ordered Coulibaly released under supervision. He is scheduled to return to court on April 9 in connection with the snowball case and on March 15 in a separate matter involving an alleged confrontation with a subway rider.

{Matzav.com}

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Thursday that every Democratic and Republican president prior to President Donald Trump acted as a patriot, arguing that the current administration represents a break from that tradition.

Speaking on “Spectrum News One,” Pelosi addressed the upcoming midterm elections and the possibility of Democrats regaining control of the House. She said a narrow majority would be sufficient numerically but expressed concern about potential challenges if the margin is slim.

Pelosi said, “We only need a handful, but I would rather have at least 30 now. But it doesn’t matter if I want to win more than we need, because I think the Republicans will try to play a stunt and challenge if it’s just a few seats. So it’s good to have the insurance of having many more. That’s the way I like it.”

She then contrasted Trump with previous occupants of the White House.

She continued, “I’ve been in politics a long time, as you know, and we’ve had Democratic presidents, Republican presidents, they’ve all been patriots until now. We have to win this race.”

Pelosi also argued that core democratic institutions are being weakened.

She added, “Our democracy is at stake. What is a democracy? A democracy is free and fair elections, an independent judiciary, freedom of the press, due process, rule of law, all of that, all of that diminished under this president and the Republicans in Congress.”

Concluding her remarks, Pelosi warned that the issue extends beyond the current presidential term.

Pelosi concluded, “It’s not just about his second term and what that is. It’s about the Congress of the United States abolishing itself and just yielding to him on every score.”

{Matzav.com}