WEEKLY UPDATE - 02.27.2026

US, Iran hold another round of talks as war looms

On Thursday, US and Iranian officials concluded the latest round of talks concerning Iran’s weapons systems, nuclear program, and proxy network in Geneva, Switzerland without reaching a deal or major break throw according to press reports. At the conclusion of the meeting, the two parties agreed to continue talks next week in an effort to avert war. Omani officials, who mediated the talks said that they were mostly positive without offering specifics. According to anonymous sources, the US is demanding that Iran close and dismantle three of its major nuclear facilities including its vast underground nuclear reactors at Fordo.

While the US administration continues to pursue a diplomatic means of heading of an armed conflict, it continues to deploy military assets to the region. The USS Gerald R. Ford, one of the world’s largest aircraft carriers, reached the eastern Mediterranean late this week as it makes it way toward the Gulf. The US also relocated dozens of fighter jets to bases in Israel and Jordan this week. Given Trump’s mercurial statements on Iran over the past two weeks The Economist reported “Never before has America amassed so much firepower with so little idea of how to use it.”

Hezbollah, once Iran’s strongest proxy in the region, hinted that it will not attack the US or its assets in the region if it carries out a “limited” strike on Iran according to the AFP. However, Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that while the group is in a defensive position, it would consider an attack on Iran an attack on Hezbollah. According to The Jerusalem Post Hezbollah would respond to any attacks on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei or meant to topple the regime. On Friday, Israel carried out a series of strikes in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley that it said targeted Hezbollah infrastructure. The strikes killed a Syrian teenager and injured 29 others.

Around the Region

• North Africa:

  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is releasing $2.3 billion in funds to Egypt via a previously approved loan. IMF officials cited Egypt’s progress in stabilizing its economy and reducing inflation as part of the decision to release the most recent tranche of funding. Between 2024 - 2025, Egypt’s GDP grew by 4.4 percent and recent reports show that inflation fell by nearly 12 precent in January. Egypt has weathered several economic storms over the past decade but has shown signs of stabilization over the past 24 months.

  • A Tunisian court rejected citizens’ pleas to close a fertilizer plant accused of polluting the city of Gabes. According to residents and activists the plant emits sulfur gases, nitrogen, and fluorine contributing to residents’ health problems. The court said that the evidence presented was insufficient to prove residents’ claims.

• The Gulf:

  • Iraq and Kuwait disputed their maritime border after Iraq submitted a map to the United Nations delineating its territorial waters. The Gulf states including Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia backed Kuwait’s dispute of the Iraqi map. Since the formation of Iraq after World War I, the government has often disputed both its land and maritime borders with Kuwait. In 2014, Kuwait submitted maps to the United Nations without consulting Iraq according to the Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein. In 2019 and 2023, Iraq expressed concerns through diplomatic channels concerning Kuwaitis border claims. This week’s incident is just the latest in a long history border disputes.

  • Saudi Arabia began increasing its oil output as a contingency in case of war between in Iran and the US throughout February. In the month of February, the country’s oil production increased by an average of 7.3 million barrels per day.

• The Levant:

  • Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel, caused an uproar throughout the Arab World when stated that Israel had the right to the territory between the Nile and Euphrates Rivers during an interview with right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson citing the Bible. In the interview Huckabee downplayed his remarks by saying that Israel is not trying to expand. Several Arab states issued a joint statement condemning Huckabee’s remarks. When asked about "Greater Israel” in a press conference on Monday Yair Lapid, a leader of Israel’s centrist opposition, said “Zionism is based on the Bible. Our mandate over the land of Israel is biblical, [and] the biblical borders of the land of Israel are clear … Therefore, the borders are the borders of the Bible.” The secular politician Lapid further drew the ire of critics who note of Israel’s growing land grabs in the West Bank and the year-long presence of IDF troops in both Lebanon and Syria. Last Friday, Israeli settlers shot and killed a 19-year old US citizen of Palestinian descent in the West Bank. Activists were quick to point out that Nasrallah Abu Siyam was the 11 US citizen killed by Israeli settlers since 2022 and questioned the commitment of Ambassador Huckabee and the US more broadly to demand accountability for American deaths at the hands of Israel.

  • The interim Syrian government and the Druze factions that control Suwayda carried out a prisoner exchange on Thursday. This was the first prisoner exchange between the parties since the bloody sectarian violence that left hundreds of Druze citizens dead in July. The Druze factions released 25 government prisoners in exchange for 61 Druze.

Recommended:

• “40 Iranian Medical Workers Speak of a Massacre” The New York Times

• “Saudi Arabia’s Coffee Renaissance” New Lines Magazine

• “Where Football is more than Football” Diwan