Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump in the White House Oval Office (Doug Mills/New York Times/File)
EA-War and Politics 24 VideoCast: Can Ukraine Hold Off Kremlin Manipulation of Trump’s Envoys?
EA on International Media: Will Trump Go to War with Iran?
I joined Times Radio’s Maddie Hale on Monday for a 38-minute takedown of the global damage and ineptitude of Donald Trump and his envoy, “jumped-up halfwit” real estate developer Steve Witkoff.
We begin with the Trump camp’s threat of airstrikes on Iran. I set out the “Sword of Damocles” approach, mobilizing warships, missiles, and fighter jets in an attempt at the Iranian regime’s surrender of its nuclear program.
That takes me to an initial dissection of Witkoff’s failure to understand why there is no regime “capitulation”.
We move to the fourth anniversity of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with no sign that the Kremlin is giving up its demands for Kyiv’s surrender — and its attempted manipulation of Witkoff and his fellow envoy, Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
It’s back to the real estate developer for his proclamation that he finds Vladimir Putin “honest” and his upset that the “silly war” continues, apparently unaware why Ukrainians would persists with the silliness as ==- in contrast to eight meetings with Putin — he has never visited the country during the invasion.
You want to sit there and complain that you’re the victim because people don’t reach agreements for you and your boss?
You do that, but don’t you dare call people who are fighting for their lives and resisting invasion “silly”.
If you are going to call them “silly”, have the decency to say it to their faces, you jumped-up halfwit.
I shift my focus to Trump for the ridiculous — his empty bluster that he is sending a hospital ship to Greenland — to the more ridiculous of his tariffs shambles.
The CIA urges Iranians to reach out as informants in rare move: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/25/the-cia-urges-iranians-to-reach-out-as-informants-in-rare-move.html
“The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has issued a rare call to Iranians to get in contact as potential informants, signaling a potential ramp-up of American efforts to gather military and civilian intelligence at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The CIA issued a Farsi-language recruitment post on X, Instagram and YouTube on Tuesday, offering potential informants a way to contact the agency to share intelligence securely. “Hello. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hears your voice and wants to help you,” the post said, according to an English-language translation, in which people with “sensitive information” or “unique skills” were invited to contact the agency.”
Iranian foreign minister demands evidence from Trump regarding 32,000 alleged deaths during protests: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iranian-foreign-minister-demands-evidence-from-trump-regarding-32-000-alleged-deaths-during-protests/3836424
“Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday dismissed US claims that 32,000 civilians were killed during protests in Iran, saying Tehran has already released official figures (3,117) and calling for evidence to substantiate higher estimates.”
Time magazine had earlier claimed that it had spoken to unnamed “health officials” in Iran who asserted 30,000 had been killed: https://time.com/7357635/more-than-30000-killed-in-iran-say-senior-officials/
The Guardian spoke to a private practice doctor who claimed over 30,000 had been killed nationwide: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jan/27/iran-protests-death-toll-disappeared-bodies-mass-burials-30000-dead
Iran International had also put out a figure of 36,000 (https://www.iranintl.com/en/202602026857).
HRANA has claimed 7,000 were killed in total, but has only managed to publish names of less than 4,500. https://www.en-hrana.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/The-Crimson-Winter-English-version.pdf
HRANA publishes report on Iran protests and unrest: https://www.en-hrana.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/The-Crimson-Winter-English-version.pdf