Donald Trump at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, Washington , D.C., February 19, 2026 (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Trump, Iran, and Epstein
EA on Amargi and Talk TV: Can Iran-US Talks Avert Trump’s War?
UPDATE 0814 GMT:
I spoke with India’s WION on Friday, taking a wider look beyond Trump’s sham “Board of Peace” for his ego and profits.
Dismantling the propaganda of Trumpist spokesperson Jennifer Ewing, I explain how the Board — demonstrated by Trump’s show in Washington on Thursday — is doing little for the Gazans who suffered from Israeli attacks and blockade.
Beyond Trump’s ego, the other motive of this event was let out of the bag by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Make money.
The most substantive proposals for Gaza are to build resorts and high-end condominiums.
When Kushner has to say, “No one here is profiting from the Board of Peace”, you can be pretty sure that some folks are looking to profit from the Board of Peace.
And with autocrats among the Board’s members, I connect the initiative to the Trump camp’s promotion of hard-right parties, anti-immigrant rhetoric, and racism.
First of all, Trump wants people there to flatter him.
Secondly, some countries are there because they don’t want the Trump Administration to take a side in their conflicts.
Thirdly, and most importantly, the Trump camp has declared that it wants to break up the European Union and support hard-right parties in Europe and elsewhere.
Watch from 3:31:
UPDATE, FEB 21:
I joined Pakistan TV on Friday to discuss further the spectacle v. substance of Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”.
I emphasize how the Board is offering almost no relief for Gaza, from humanitarian aid to security to governance. I dissect the rhetoric, including of Trump, to emphasize that the main purpose of Thursday’s display was to flatter the reality TV star in the White House.
The other guest is Jawad Tehami.
Watch from 2:37
ORIGINAL ENTRY, FEB 20: I joined international outlets on Friday to analyze a headline contradiction: Donald Trump’s sham “Board of Peace”, for his ego and profits rather than Gazans, v. his threatened war on Iran.
I crawl through the wreckage of Thursday’s event where Trump called for the flattery of those who attended and insulted those who did not. And as Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner insisted that no one was there to profit from the “Riviera of the Middle East”, almost no one referred to the specifics of humanitarian aid, security, and governance, in Gaza — let alone the reality of Israel’s occupation of 53% of the Strip and chokehold on the rest.
Then I analyze the buildup of a massive US force off the Persian Gulf as a “Sword of Damocles” to compel Iran to accept the Trump’s camp demands. But given adverse news for Trump today, from the Supreme Court striking down his tariffs to poor GDP figures, could it be used now?
Watch Times Radio
In an 8-minute interview with Rosie Wright, I take on both topics, cutting through the PR spin around the Board of Peace and emphasizing that airstrikes on Iran will not help Iranians facing the regime’s repression.
We have to be honest. If the Americans choose to attack, it not only sweeps aside the talks with the Iranians about the nuclear program. It completely undermines Iranians who are seeking rights, reform, and justice.
