🇷🇺 RUSSIA
Russia Squeezes
Telegram Again
Telegram founder Pavel Durov
Russia is moving to choke Telegram with new limits after users reported slow traffic and stalled downloads on Tuesday. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov says he is not backing down.
Signal. Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said it will roll out "phased restrictions" on Telegram, arguing the company has not fixed earlier violations and is still failing to comply with Russian law.
Friction. Incidentally, users across Russia reported lagging performance throughout Tuesday, right as the regulator signaled a tighter grip on one of the country's main channels for both private chat and public news.
Response. Durov, the Russian-born founder who left the country in 2014, posted late Tuesday that Telegram "stands for freedom and privacy, no matter the pressure," and framed the crackdown as an attempt to steer people toward a state-backed alternative designed for surveillance and political censorship.
Pressure. Officials are pushing for Russian users' personal data to be stored inside the country, and pushing for platforms to curb what Moscow labels "fraud" and "criminal and terrorist purposes."
Kremlin spokesperson Peskov backed the push.
State news agency RIA reported Telegram faces up to 64 million rubles ($828,160) in fines across eight upcoming court hearings, with bailiffs seeking another 9 million rubles ($116,460) in unpaid penalties.
📌 Context. Russia tried and failed to block Telegram in 2018 and lifted the ban in 2020, but the app remains a constant irritant because it is used by everyone from the Kremlin to courts to the exiled opposition. This latest squeeze comes as Russian authorities promote a homegrown messenger, MAX, launched last year.
🇪🇺 EUROPEAN UNION
EU Targets
Russian Crypto
The European Commission is pushing to ban all crypto transactions with Russia in order to stop sanctions evasion outside the banking system.
Plan. The Commission wants EU actors barred from engaging with any crypto asset service provider, or any platform for transferring or exchanging crypto assets, that is established in Russia.
Package. The proposal sits inside the EU's 20th sanctions package since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Brussels initially aimed to lock it in before February 24, 2026, the fourth anniversary.
However, it still needs unanimous backing.
Diplomats familiar with the package say that three member states have raised doubts and want more information.
Targets. The Commission is trying to prevent successors to Garantex, a Russia-linked exchange sanctioned by the US in 2022 for serving cybercriminals.
The measures appear aimed at a Russian payments platform called A7 and a rouble-pegged stablecoin tied to it called A7A5, after blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said last month that its aggregate transaction volume topped $100 billion.
Spillover. Brussels also wants to use new anti-circumvention powers for the first time by banning exports of certain dual-use goods to Kyrgyzstan, citing flows of sensitive items to Russia.
The Commission document says imports of "common high-priority items" from the EU to Kyrgyzstan are up almost 800% since the war began.
Meanwhile, Kyrgyz exports to Russia are up 1,200%.
🇮🇷 IRAN
Isfahan Tunnels Sealed
Soil has been added to the entrances of the Isfahan nuclear complex.
Iran appears to have buried three tunnel entrances at the Isfahan nuclear complex, apparently to complicate any US or Israeli commando raid targeting highly enriched uranium. Satellite imagery shows no vehicle activity around the entrances.
Imagery. A Washington-based watchdog, the Institute for Science and International Security, says satellite images taken Sunday show soil fully covering three entrances to the Isfahan site.
The middle and southern portals described as "unrecognizable" and the northern entrance also backfilled.
The group argued the work looks like passive defense, not routine construction.
Intent. This is being interpreted as Iran expecting either an airstrike or a ground seizure attempt and aiming to delay both.
Backfilling can blunt blast effects at the openings.
It may also force commandos to dig first before conducting any operation inside the facility.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (left) and US President Donald Trump (right).
Signals. This comes as President Trump has been warning of tougher action if talks fail, including talk of sending a second carrier and doing "something very tough."
Trump doubled down today, telling Axios in an interview that he might send second carrier to strike Iran if talks fail.
US Envoy Steve Witkoff (left) and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (right).
Reminder. Last week, Iran and the US held their first round of indirect nuclear talks in Muscat, mediated by Oman, and both sides described it as a "positive start."
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly passed messages through Omani intermediaries before a brief direct exchange.
However, many critics see Trump’s push for negotiations with the Islamic regime as legitimizing a murderous dictatorship that hires terrorist to kill its own people.
Meanwhile, others believe Trump is buying time to prepare for a lethal strike, aimed at toppling the regime while minimizing casualties.
📌 Context. The Institute said similar tunnel preparations were seen before a US strike in June that targeted Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Iran continues to insist its nuclear program is peaceful and says talks should stay limited to nuclear issues and sanctions.
🇳🇱 NETHERLANDS
Fifteen Arrested
Over ISIS Content
Dutch police arrested 15 people in nationwide raids tied to a TikTok account accused of pushing ISIS content in Dutch. Prosecutors say the posts praised martyrdom and tried to nudge viewers toward terrorist crimes.
Raids. On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, police swept across the Netherlands and detained 15 suspects after authorities say Islamic State inspired videos racked up more than 100,000 views.
Trail. The case started with a nationwide investigation opened in August 2025 into a TikTok account that prosecutors say spread Islamic State propaganda with Dutch subtitles, including calls to join the group and "glorification of self-sacrifice."
Profiles. Authorities say the suspects range from 16 to 53 years old, include 13 people with Syrian nationality, and include minors, with a separate arrest in January tied to a person described as the main suspect.
