Morning Briefing: Feb. 17, 2026

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Tuesday, including President Donald Trump saying he will be involved "indirectly" in nuclear talks between the US and Iran that will be held in Geneva on Tuesday, UN chief condemning Israel’s plan to register West Bank land as state property, and Israeli drone strike killing four targeting vehicle along Lebanese-Syrian border.

TOP STORIES

• Trump says he will be involved 'indirectly' in US talks with Iran

President Donald Trump said he will be involved "indirectly" in nuclear talks between the US and Iran that will be held in Geneva on Tuesday.

"I'll be involved in those talks indirectly, and they'll be very important," Trump told reporters Monday en route to Washington when asked what he is expecting from the second round of the indirect nuclear negotiations.

"We'll see what can happen," he added. Under the announced schedule, the talks are set to begin Tuesday morning under Omani mediation and will be hosted at the Embassy of Oman in the Swiss city.

Trump said Iran is "a very tough" negotiator.

"But I would say they are bad negotiators, as we could have had a deal instead of sending out B-2s to knock out their nuclear potential. We had to send the B-2s. I hope they are going to be more reasonable," he added, referring to the US stealth bombers that carried out the bombings on Iranian nuclear facilities during an escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict in June 2025.

• UN chief condemns Israel’s plan to register West Bank land as state property

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned Israel's decision to classify areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property.”

"The secretary-general condemns the Israeli government’s Feb. 15 decision to resume land registration procedures in Area C of the occupied West Bank, following a Cabinet decision in May 2025," said Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric during a news conference.

He warned that the move could dispossess Palestinians of their property and expand Israeli control over land in the area.

"Such measures, including Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, are not only destabilizing but, as recalled by the International Court of Justice, unlawful," Dujarric said.

The statement came a day after the Israeli government approved a proposal to register Palestinian land in the West Bank as "state property."

• 4 killed in Israeli drone strike targeting vehicle along Lebanese-Syrian border

Four people were killed Sunday evening in an Israeli drone strike targeting a vehicle in the eastern Lebanese town of Majdal Anjar near the Lebanese-Syrian border despite a ceasefire, Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported.

The agency said an Israeli drone struck a car between the al-Masnaa border crossing and the village of Jdeidet Yabous, along the Lebanon-Syria border, resulting in fatalities and an unidentified number of injuries.

The sound of four strong explosions was reported heard in nearby villages, the agency added.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it carried out a strike against members of the Islamic Jihad Movement in the Majdal Anjar area of Lebanon. There was no comment from the group on the incident. The attacks come amid repeated Israeli violations of a ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met in Geneva on Monday with his Omani counterpart, Badr Albusaidi, on the eve of the second round of indirect nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
  
  
• Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is set to form a government Tuesday, after winning a landslide in last week's elections, 18 months after the Awami League government was ousted in 2024.
  
  
• The US is talking to Cuba "right now," President Donald Trump told reporters en route to Washington.
  
  
• The UN said on Monday that Israel denied or impeded nearly half of coordinated humanitarian aid movements inside the Gaza Strip despite a ceasefire deal, with only just over half fully facilitated over a six-day period.
  
  
• Russia and Ukraine are expected to continue US-mediated peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 17-18, with both sides confirming that their delegations are en route and preparatory consultations are underway.
  
  
• A shooting Monday afternoon at an indoor ice rink in the US state of Rhode Island left three people dead, including the suspected shooter. Three others were hospitalized, according to WPRI 12 News.
  
  
• Germany’s foreign minister criticized France on Monday for "insufficient" defense spending, saying Paris must back up its calls for European sovereignty with action.
  
  
• Iran’s top naval commander said Monday that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) maintain “full 24-hour intelligence dominance” over the Strait of Hormuz.
  
  
• Sinn Fein will not attend St Patrick’s Day events at the White House for a second consecutive year, with the party’s leadership citing the ongoing war in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians.
  
  
• Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on Monday issued a decree calling a public referendum to seek voters’ views on holding presidential and parliamentary elections concurrently.
  
  
• UN human rights experts on Monday called for independent and impartial investigations into the Epstein files, warning that the alleged abuses documented in the disclosures could amount to crimes against humanity.
  
  
• Switzerland is considering a European alternative to the US-made Patriot air defense system after Washington postponed delivery of five missile batteries, local media reported Monday.
  
  
• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab League on Monday condemned “illegal” Israeli measures to register large lands of the occupied West Bank as “state property,” warning the move undermines efforts to establish peace in the region and calling for urgent international action.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Quarter of Belgians reduce purchases of US goods, poll shows

One in four Belgians has started buying fewer American products amid recent tensions with the US, according to a survey commissioned by AG Insurance.

The poll, conducted between Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 among 1,000 respondents across Belgium, found that 25.3% of participants said they had reduced their purchases of well-known US brands such as Coca-Cola, Oreo, and Nike, Belga news agency reported on Monday.

• Colombia to issue temporary decree on minimum wage hike after its suspension by high court

Colombia’s government said Monday that it will issue a temporary decree on the 2026 minimum wage after the country’s highest administrative court ordered a provisional suspension of the historic increase.

The battle over the minimum wage reached a boiling point as the government reconvened the Permanent Commission on Wage and Labor Policy.