President Donald J. Trump told reporters earlier during an event in the Oval Office that negotiations are ongoing with Iran and that they do not want another Midnight Hammer.

“They're all over it, but they are negotiating. They'd like to do something, and we'll see if something is gonna be done. They had a chance to do something a while ago, and it didn't work out, and we did Midnight Hammer. I don't think they want that happening again, but they would like to negotiate. We are negotiating with them right now, yes.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro posted a photo of the picture and note that was presented to him by President Donald J. Trump during their meeting today at the White House, which says:

Gustavo -

A great honor -
I love Colombia.

Donald J. Trump

Remember when Trump less than a month ago told Petro to “watch his ass” and called him a “sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” before threatening to kidnap him like Maduro?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Monday that Ukraine would be designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, following the lead of the European Union.

Last Wednesday, January 28, the Military Gendarmerie of Poland states that a “small toy-like drone” of unknown origin fell onto a military base in Przasnysz, Northern Poland, with the drone seen flying over the base before crashing, after which it was secured and handed over to Military Police. Security officials say that the drone was an “unsophisticated device that was possibly controlled using a mobile phone,” while containing “no recording devices, such as a memory card or SIM card, that could transmit data,” according to Reuters.

Footage showing an interceptor missile fired by a Ukrainian MIM-104 “Patriot” Surface-to-Air Missile System intercepting a Russian short-range ballistic missile during last night’s large-scale attack against Kyiv and other major cities across Ukraine.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that Artemis II, the first manned lunar mission by the United States since Apollo 17 in 1972 which was set to launch as soon as February 8, will be delayed until at least early March, after a wet dress rehearsal Monday revealed several problems, including a hydrogen leak while filling up Artemis II’s Space Launch System (SLS). “With more than three years between SLS launches, we fully anticipated encountering challenges,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a post Tuesday on X. “That is precisely why we conduct a wet dress rehearsal. These tests are designed to surface issues before flight and set up launch day with the highest probability of success.”

Member of NASA’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) stands guard at night in front of the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida.

We have to go back…

Despite claims earlier today that planned negotiations later this week between Iran and the United States had “collapsed” due to disagreements on the location and topics, both the White House and Iran’s Foreign Ministry have now stated that nuclear talks Friday afternoon will go ahead, expected to take place in the Omani capital of Muscat.

Speaking during an exclusive interview Wednesday with NBC News, President Donald J. Trump stated that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be “very worried,” though he makes it clear that negotiations are ongoing between Iran and the United States.

Naval Forces under Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have boarded and seized two vessels in the Persian Gulf accused of transporting upwards of one million liters of alleged “smuggled fuel,” with fifteen foreign crewmembers detained during the operation, according to reports by Iran’s state-run Tasnim News Agency.

The United States and Russia have agreed to reestablish high level military-to-military dialogue between the two countries which was halted in 2021, preceding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Today’s announcement comes amid trilateral peace negotiations Wednesday and Thursday in Abu Dhabi between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the United States, which included talks between senior Russian and Ukrainian military officials alongside the Commander of U.S. European Command (EUCOM), Gen. Alexus Grynkewich.

President Donald J. Trump mentioned Iran and Venezuela while joking about the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan “Raizin” Caine, during this morning’s 74th Annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington:

“He’s brutal. Just ask Venezuela. Ask Iran. They're negotiating. Now, they don't want to have - they don’t want us to hit them. You know, we have a big fleet going over to Iran. But so Raizin was there at the bottom of the plane. What's your name? Raizin. What's your last name? Caine. I said, so your name is - let's get this straight - your name is Raizin Caine, right?”

President Donald J. Trump: “You can go and sleep. We have quarters prepared for you. I said: ‘No no, I don't have to sleep. I've been on a plane sleeping for twenty… I mean, I sleep on the plane.’ I don't sleep on planes. I don't like sleeping on planes. You know, I like looking out the window watching for missiles and enemies, actually.”

On Thursday at 12:00am, New START, the last and final nuclear arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States, signed in April 2010 with the formal name Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, expired with no currents plan for a future agreement, despite interest and almost begging by the Russian Government under President Vladimir Putin.

Under New START, both Russia and the United States were required to limit their number of deployed nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550, while both parties were limited to a maximum of 800 deployed and non-deployed Intercontinental and Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (ICBM/ICBM). In 2021, both countries extended their participation in the New START Treaty until 2026, however, in January 2023 the United States determined that Russia was in violation of the treaty and on February 21, 2023 Russia’s President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia was “suspending” its participation in New START.

President Donald J. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner negotiated on extending New START, the last nuclear arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States, with Russian officials on the sidelines of Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Thursday, according to Axios.

The U.S. Virtual Embassy for Iran has published an updated travel alert reiterating previous calls for Americans to immediately depart Iran, via both commercial flights and land crossings with Armenia and Türkiye. The alert calls on Americans to “Leave Iran now,” and to have plans that do not rely on help from the United States.

President Donald J. Trump has called for the creation of a new, improved, and modernized nuclear arms treaty between Russia and the United States, instead of an extension of New START, the final nuclear arms reduction treaty between the two countries which expired on Thursday.