We wait for Trump to decide what he will do, for what reason, or reasons?
Sec. of State Rubio talks to Congressional Leaders….
Student’s ARE Still protesting in Iran….
And?
The Late Shah of Iran’s eledest Son IS waiting in the wings to return to Iran to lead….
ISW….Iran Update, February 24, 2026
- Iranian Preparations for a Potential Conflict: Iran is continuing to prepare for a potential military conflict with the United States. Several unspecified Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Ground Forces units held an exercise on February 24 at the Madinah ol Munawarah Operational Base near the Strait of Hormuz in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province, and on unspecified Persian Gulf islands, presumably the Nazeat Islands. The IRGC could use the Nazeat Islands to stage operations.
- Iranian Cooperation with US Adversaries: Iran is seeking support from US adversaries Russia and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to prepare for war against the United States. Iran is attempting to address its air defense vulnerabilities by requesting alternative air defense components from Russia and the PRC, but these components cannot replace S-300s or aircraft within Iran’s integrated air defense network….
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US Sec of State speaks to US Congress Leaders….
Marco Rubio delivered a rare briefing to top US lawmakers on Iran from the White House on Tuesday as Washington deploys its largest force of aircraft and warships to the Middle East since the 2003 buildup to the Iraq war.
The audience for the secretary of state’s briefing was reported to include the so-called “gang of eight”, which includes the senior lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate, as well as the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees.
The select group is briefed by the White House on classified intelligence matters, which can include preparations for significant military action. Rubio last publicly briefed the group on 5 January, the day after the US launched its successful operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
The developments came after a second US aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford – the largest such vessel in the world – arrived in the region. Analysts have said that the US is now in position to launch a strike against Iran if Donald Trump orders one.
…The details of the report were classified and were not immediately made public. Exiting the briefing, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said: “This is serious, and the administration has to make its case to the American people.”
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Student protesting in Iran contiunes….
Plainclothes police and security forces, many of them armed, have tried to flood Iran’s remaining open universities in an attempt to crush a fourth day of student protests against the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Running battles were reported on some campuses, with videos showing fistfights between the Basji state-backed militia and students at the University of Science and Technology in Tehran. Pick-up trucks with machine-guns were photographed parked outside the University of Tehran, with demonstrations also in Mashhad.
Elsewhere, students found themselves barred from entry if they had been identified as being involved in previous protests and university administrators also announced the closure of in-person classes. Nearly 80% of Iran’s universities are already conducting virtual courses, partly to prevent students being given a chance to gather to demonstrate against the government and its brutal crackdown of the January protests.
In videos from the University of Art in Tehran, a range of chants could be heard, including “We fight, we die, we take back Iran”, “Political prisoners must be freed” and “Khamenei the Zahhak [serpent king], we’ll bury you alive”.
The protesters have also called the Basijis the sons of sex workers and made comments about the sexual life of the supreme leader…..
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Why Iranians Are Increasingly Willing to Settle for Reza Pahlavi
….In recent years, Pahlavi aides and supporters have been using slash-and-burn tactics online and in real life to dominate the Iranian opposition and broader discourse inside and outside the country — a blueprint I’m told was partly inspired by President Donald Trump. The moves have unnerved even people accustomed to long-running infighting in Iran’s diaspora.
As his supporters have pursued these aggressive tactics, Pahlavi’s profile has reached new heights, a trend especially obvious since Israel’s war with Iran last June and amid recent protests in Iran. And with Trump threatening military strikes against Tehran, Pahlavi — who has spent most of his life in the U.S. — may soon get a shot at returning to his homeland and shaping its future. The possibility is so appealing to anguished Iranians, including in the diaspora, that some activists who don’t like his team’s tactics tell me they’ll still support Pahlavi if it helps end the Islamist regime.
One person familiar with Pahlavi’s inner circle told me their goal is to create exactly that dichotomy in people’s minds: Pahlavi or the regime….
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He also speaks loftily of a future democratic Iran where he may play a vague role. He has, however, started putting himself forward as the sole leader of the opposition. He also has become more partisan in the U.S. sense. He criticizes Democrats while praising Trump and the GOP. He has further linked himself with the Israeli government and spoken at conservative gatherings.
Pahlavi and his movement have become more organized and more able to draw crowds, as well as celebrity backers. He is eclipsing others in the Iranian opposition, including people imprisoned for defying the regime and the Mujahedin-e-Khalq, a decades-old movement the U.S. previously listed as a terror group.
Pahlavi’s statements are believed to have helped fuel the recent protests in Iran, during which many demonstrators appear to have chanted his name. (Some Pahlavi critics blame him in part for the regime crackdown that killed many thousands of those protesters.) Polls in recent years suggest that Pahlavi has significant support in Iran, although it’s tough to poll there. In mid-February, Pahlavi drew an eye-popping crowd of 250,000 in Munich, Germany, as well as large gatherings in other cities around the world, to rally for regime change in Tehran….
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