Iran says US stance on nuclear issue 'more realistic' ahead of crunch talks

TNA’s live coverage of the latest from the war on Gaza concludes for today. Join us again tomorrow.

US Senator Lindsey Graham said that a decision on whether to pursue a diplomatic agreement with Iran or move towards military intervention could come within weeks rather than months.

Speaking at a news conference in Tel Aviv, Graham warned that any attempt by Israel to annex the West Bank would further isolate the country internationally. He said such a move would deal a “mighty blow” to Israel’s standing on the global stage.

Commenting on ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran and the possibility of US military action, Graham said there are currently two paths under consideration: a diplomatic effort aimed at ending the current Iranian system in a way that serves US national security interests, and a military option.

He added that Donald Trump is weighing which approach is most likely to succeed.

Lebanon's government said Monday that the army would need at least four months to implement the second phase of the military's plan to disarm group Hezbollah in the country's south.

Lebanon's government last year committed to disarming Hezbollah, which was badly weakened in a recent war with Israel, and tasked the army with drawing up a plan to do so.

The military said last month said it had completed the first phase of the plan, covering the area between the Litani River and the Israeli border about 30 kilometres (20 miles) farther south.

The second phase concerns the area between the Litani and the Awali rivers, around 40 kilometres south of Beirut.

Information Minister Paul Morcos told a news conference after a cabinet session that the government "took note of the army leadership's presentation" on the second stage of the plan.

"There is a timeframe of four months, extendable depending on available capabilities, Israeli attacks and hindrances on the ground," he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refused help Tuesday for 34 Australian citizens related to suspected Islamic State jihadists, as they try to return home from a Syrian detention camp.

The Australians were released from the Roj camp on Monday but failed to reach the capital Damascus because of "poor coordination" with the Syrian authorities, a Kurdish official told AFP news agency in Syria.

They were forced to return to the detention camp, said camp official Rashid Omar.

"As my mother would say, you make your bed, you lie in it," Albanese told public broadcaster ABC.

"We have no sympathy, frankly, for people who travelled overseas in order to participate in what was an attempt to establish a caliphate to undermine and destroy our way of life," he added.

"It is unfortunate that children are impacted by this as well, but we are not providing any support."

Any of the citizens who made it back to Australia would face the "full force of the law" if they had committed crimes, the prime minister said.

Indonesia is preparing 1,000 troops for a potential deployment to the Gaza Strip by early April, as part of a proposed multinational peacekeeping force, an Indonesian military spokesperson said on Monday.

Doni Pramono said the final decision on any deployment would be made by President Prabowo Subianto. He added that Indonesia expects to have up to 8,000 troops on standby by June, should the mission go ahead.

In an interview with the New York Post, US President Donald Trump said that $5 billion in funding from member states of the so-called “Board of Peace” would be directed towards stabilising Gaza and other regions around the world.

Trump said the funds would be used to “make Gaza happen” and to promote stability, though he did not clarify whether the money would be allocated to housing or reconstruction efforts in the territory.

He added that the funding would also be aimed at supporting peace in other parts of the world, in line with what he described as the board’s broader mission. His comments appeared to position the proposed body as a potential rival to the United Nations, despite the board’s charter reportedly making no explicit reference to Gaza.

Trump’s remarks suggest an effort to frame the initiative as a new international mechanism for conflict resolution, although key details about its scope and implementation remain unclear.

An 18-year-old Palestinian has been shot dead by Israeli forces at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Qalqilya, according to Palestinian media reports.

The teenager has been identified as Muhammad Shreim.

Israel’s military had not issued an immediate comment on the incident at the time of reporting.

Eight Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip have been released by Israeli forces via the Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) crossing, after being arrested during the past two years of Israel’ genocidal war on Gaza.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it facilitated the transfer of the detainees following their release by Israel at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza.

The organisation added that it transported the freed prisoners to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where it helped them contact and reunite with their families.

The ICRC did not disclose details about the detainees’ medical conditions. However, previously released prisoners have reported that many former detainees suffer from severe malnutrition and injuries, which they say are linked to harsh treatment and physical abuse in Israeli detention facilities.

The organisation said it has been denied access to Palestinians held in Israeli detention centres since October 2023. It stressed the need for clarity on the fate and whereabouts of all detainees and called for immediate access to those being held.

The ICRC reiterated that international humanitarian law requires detainees to be treated humanely, held in acceptable conditions, and allowed regular contact with their families. It said it remains in dialogue with Israeli authorities in an effort to resume detention visits.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Monday on Israel to reverse its new policy allowing registration of occupied West Bank land as state property.

Guterres believes this new measure is "destabilizing" and "unlawful," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

India has seized three US-sanctioned oil tankers linked to Iran this month and stepped up surveillance in its maritime zone to curb illicit trade, a source said on Monday, confirming a post on X by Indian authorities earlier in February that had been deleted.

India aims to prevent its waters from being used for ship-to-ship transfers that obscure the origin of oil cargoes, the source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters news agency.

The seizures and heightened surveillance follow an improvement in US-India relations. Washington earlier this month announced it will cut import tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%, after New Delhi agreed to stop Russian oil imports.

The three sanctioned vessels - Stellar Ruby, Asphalt Star and Al Jafzia - frequently changed their identities to evade law enforcement by coastal states, the source said, adding that their owners were based overseas.

One person has been killed in the southern Lebanese town of Tallouseh after an Israeli done struck the area, The New Arab's Arabic-language site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, said.

Israeli police said Monday that they would deploy in force around the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week, as Palestinian officials accused Israel of imposing restrictions at the compound.

Over the course of the month of fasting and prayer, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al-Aqsa -- Islam's third-holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed.

Arad Braverman, a senior Jerusalem police officer, said forces would be deployed "day and night" across the compound and in the surrounding area.

He said thousands of police would also be on duty for Friday prayers, which draw the largest crowds of Muslim worshippers.

Braverman said police had recommended issuing 10,000 permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, who require special permission to enter Jerusalem.

He did not say whether age limits would apply, adding that the final number of people would be decided by the government.

Israeli police have reportedly detained Sheikh Mohammad Ali Al-Abbasi, the imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, on Monday evening from inside the mosque’s courtyards, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

This comes as Palestinian Muslims are due to welcome the holy Muslim month of Ramadan some time this week, and amid escalating measures by the occupation authorities targeting Al-Aqsa Mosque, which include restrictions on imams

Visiting German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday urged Beirut to keep disarming militant group Hezbollah, saying it would help ensure the withdrawal of Israel's army from Lebanese territory.

Israel has kept up regular strikes and maintained troops in five south Lebanon areas despite a November 2024 truce that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed group.

Lebanon's government has committed to disarming Hezbollah, and the army last month said it had completed the first phase of the plan, covering the area between the Litani River and the Israeli border.

Steinmeier said his visit was about "the demand that both sides fulfil their obligations under the ceasefire agreement and that the disarmament of Hezbollah here in Lebanon continues, thereby creating the conditions for the Israeli army to withdraw from southern Lebanon".

"Both sides are obliged to fulfil the ceasefire agreement - I say this in Israel as well as in Lebanon," he told a press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun, calling the deal "an opportunity".

Iran said Monday that the US position on Tehran's nuclear programme "has moved towards a more realistic one", a day ahead of a second round of talks.

"A cautious assessment is that, from the discussions that have taken place in Muscat to date, at least what we have been told is that the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Israeli forces have arrested or interrogated over 60 Palestinians in the West Bank from Sunday evening until Monday morning, including women and former prisoners.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement on Monday that the arrests and field interrogations followed the Israeli announcement of intensified arrest campaigns in the West Bank, coinciding with the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The arrests were concentrated in several governorates, particularly Nablus.

Italy stands ready to help train police forces in Gaza and elsewhere in the Palestinian territories, its foreign minister said on Monday, as Rome aims to play a role in stabilizing the Middle East.

"We are ready to train a new Gaza police force, and we are also ready to train a Palestinian police force," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told a news conference in Rome.

He confirmed that Rome was ready to participate as an observer in US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace initiative, and Italy had been invited to attend a meeting of the group this week in Washington. 

The European Union will take part in this week's inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", but a spokesman insisted Monday that Brussels would not be joining as a member.

The European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica, will head to Washington to represent the EU at the meeting Thursday.

"She will participate in the meeting of the Board of Peace for the specific part dedicated to Gaza. Let me stress that the European Commission, it's not becoming a member to the Board of Peace," EU spokesman Guillaume Mercier said.

He added the EU executive was participating as part of its "long-standing commitment" to the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire and "to support the reconstruction and the post-recovery in Gaza", he added.

Making a deal a deal with Iran will be difficult, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a visit to the Hungarian capital Budapest on Monday.

The European Union on Monday called on Israel to reverse its approval of a process to register land in the West Bank, warning it was a "new escalation".

"This constitutes a new escalation after recent measures already aimed at extending Israeli control" in the occupied West Bank, EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said. "We reiterate that annexation is illegal under international law. We call on Israel to reverse this decision," he added.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began a series of military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, state media reported, a narrow and strategic waterway in the Gulf.

Intensive drills were being conducted by the Guards' naval forces under supervision of the head of the IRGC, according to state TV, after the United States deployed a large naval force to the Gulf.

A number of Israeli settlers reportedly attempted to enter Syria overnight on Sunday, the Israeli military said, but were located and then return to Israel some time later.

The suspects were reportedly caught a mere minutes after crossing the border, and were handed over to police for further questioning.

The settlers are members of the Bashan Pioneers group, and have attempted to cross into Syria multiple times before Sunday's incident. 

The Israeli producer of hit spy thriller "Tehran" was found dead on Sunday at a hotel room in Athens, Greek police officials said while a probe into the incident is underway.

The body of the 52-year-old woman, identified as Dana Eden, was found after a relative made several failed attempts to reach her.

The case is being treated as suicide based on evidence and testimonies, the police officials said.

Greek investigators found pills at the scene. A coroner also found bruises on the victim's neck.

"This is a moment of great sorrow for the family, friends, and colleagues," international production company Donna and Shula Productions said in a statement.

"The production company wishes to clarify that rumors regarding a criminal or nationalistic-related death are not true and are unfounded," it said, urging media and the public to refrain from publishing unverified claims.

Syrian Kurdish forces on Monday released 34 Australians from a camp holding families of suspected Islamic State militants in northern Syria, saying they would be flown to Australia from Damascus.

Hukmiya Mohamed, a co-director of Roj camp, told Reuters that the 34 Australians had been released to members of their families who had come to Syria for the release. They were put on small buses for Damascus.

Roj camp holds more than 2,000 people from 40 different nationalities, the majority of them women and children.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that two bodies and 11 wounded individuals arrived at hospitals in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed since the ceasefire to 603, with 1,618 wounded.

The total number of those killed since the start of the war in Gaza has reached 72,063,

Israeli forces ransacked the home of a Palestinian journalist in occupied Jerusalem on Sunday night, causing damage to her home.

Nisreen Salem was already detained the previous day by Israeli forces.

Her arrest comes amid an ongoing targeting of Palestinian journalists in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza by Israel.

Israeli authorities a commercial store in the village of Kabul in the Galilee region, north of the 1948 territories, on Monday morning, saying it was built without a valid permit.

Video footage shared online showed the store completely destroyed, with produce and goods all over the premises' floor.

Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli bulldozers carried out the demolition and prevented residents from approaching until it was complete.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said he will meet International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi on Monday accompanied by nuclear experts "for deep technical discussions," the day before a second round of US-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva.

"I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal. What is not on the table: submission before threats," Araghchi said on X.

The IAEA has been calling on Iran for months to say what happened to its stockpile of 440 kg of highly enriched uranium following Israeli-US strikes and let inspections fully resume, including in three key sites that were bombed in June: Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.

While Iran allowed the UN nuclear watchdog to inspect declared nuclear facilities that were not targeted last June, it says that the IAEA must clarify its stance regarding US and Israeli strikes and adds that the bombed sites are unsafe for inspections.

The IAEA and Iran announced an agreement in September in Cairo that was supposed to pave the way towards full inspections and verification, but Tehran scrapped the agreement after Western powers reinstated UN sanctions on Iran

An Israeli drone strike targeted a moving vehicle and killed one person in Hanin, south Lebanon, on Monday, Lebanese media and the Israeli military said.

The Israeli army claimed the target was a Hezbollah operative.

This comes after at least four people were killed late on Sunday following an Israeli strike near the Syrian border in Lebanon's east.

Israel said it had targeted operatives from Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad.

Despite a ceasefire put in place since November 2024, Israeli forces have regularly breached such in Lebanon, carrying out frequent attacks.

احتراق سيارتين في غارة إسرائيلية ببلدة حانين جنوبي لبنان#العربي_الجديد pic.twitter.com/KxTajLCyWs

— العربي الجديد (@alaraby_ar) February 16, 2026