The briefing for Tuesday, February 17.

The United States and Iran are holding their second round of nuclear negotiations Tuesday in Geneva, with President Trump stating he will be 'indirectly' involved in the talks. Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are leading the discussions, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi heads Iran's delegation. The first round took place February 6 in Oman and was conducted indirectly, with American and Iranian officials entering the venue separately.

The talks unfold against a backdrop of escalating military posturing on both sides. Trump announced the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, is being deployed from the Caribbean to join the USS Abraham Lincoln already in the region. Iran responded by launching Revolutionary Guard maritime drills in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which 20% of global oil passes. US forces shot down an Iranian drone that approached the Lincoln last week, the same day Iran attempted to stop a US-flagged ship in the strait.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US hopes to achieve a deal despite difficulties, though the administration maintains Iran can have no uranium enrichment under any agreement. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signaled Tehran could compromise on nuclear issues if the US agrees to ease sanctions. Iran has been enriching uranium up to 60% purity—a short step from weapons-grade levels—and according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, its stockpile could theoretically allow production of up to 10 nuclear bombs if weaponized.

Two female Israeli soldiers were rescued by police in the city of Bnei Brak after being chased through streets by a crowd of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men. Video showed the women running past overturned bins and debris as police formed a protective barrier. More than 20 people were arrested, and three officers were injured in the incident. Police used stun grenades to disperse crowds, and protesters damaged several police vehicles, including overturning a patrol car and setting a motorcycle on fire.

The soldiers were reportedly on an official home visit to another servicemember when the confrontation erupted. According to Israeli broadcaster Kan, they were wrongly believed to be delivering military conscription orders. The issue of conscription has become increasingly contentious during the war in Gaza, with the government now debating legislation requiring ultra-Orthodox men not in full-time religious study to serve. Since Israel's founding in 1948, yeshiva students have been exempt from military service, but the High Court of Justice ruled this exemption unconstitutional over a decade ago and formally ended temporary arrangements last year.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the incident as 'unacceptable' and representing 'an extreme minority that does not represent the entire Haredi community.' Jewish religious leaders also denounced the violence. The ultra-Orthodox population has doubled its share of Israel's population over the past seven decades and now accounts for 14%, making the conscription debate increasingly significant as the country continues military operations.

The United States plans to deploy additional high-tech missile systems to the Philippines this year, according to a joint statement released Tuesday following annual security talks in Manila. The announcement comes despite repeated objections from China, which has expressed alarm over existing US missile deployments in the northern Philippines. Officials outlined plans for 'increased deployments of US cutting-edge missile and unmanned systems' as part of efforts to modernize the Philippine military and enhance regional deterrence.

The US currently has a Typhon mid-range missile system and a Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System deployed in the Philippines' northern Luzon region. The Typhon can fire Standard Missile-6 and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, with Tomahawks capable of traveling over 1,000 miles—placing much of China within range. Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez indicated the new deployments would include 'upgraded' missile launchers that the Philippines may eventually purchase for its own use. He emphasized the systems are 'purely for deterrence' and not aimed at antagonizing any country.

In their joint statement, US and Philippine officials condemned what they called China's 'illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive activities in the South China Sea.' Beijing has repeatedly demanded the Philippines remove the missile systems from its territory and warned they threaten regional stability. Confrontations between Chinese and Philippine coast guard forces have intensified in recent years in the disputed waters, where Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan also have competing territorial claims.

China is intensifying a multi-front pressure campaign against Japan following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments in November suggesting Japan would activate its self-defense forces if Taiwan were attacked. Beijing has responded with a coordinated effort spanning diplomatic, military, and economic measures—including the recent return of two pandas from Tokyo's Ueno Zoo that drew thousands of tearful farewells from Japanese fans. Analysts note this represents a broader and more sustained campaign than previous bilateral disputes.

The pressure extends across multiple domains. Diplomatically, China lodged UN complaints, postponed a trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea, and urged allies Russia and North Korea to denounce Japan. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi invoked Japan's World War Two history at the Munich Security Conference, calling Takaichi's stance 'a very dangerous development.' Militarily, Japan reports Chinese drones, warships sailing past islands, fighter jets locking radars on Japanese aircraft, and coast guard confrontations near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Japanese authorities seized a Chinese fishing vessel last week amid rising maritime tensions.

Economically, Beijing has imposed restrictions on exports to Japan of dual-use technologies including rare earth materials, curbed Chinese tourism, and cancelled concerts. Observers describe the approach as similar to China's 'greyzone warfare' against Taiwan—diffuse, low-level pressure aimed at normalizing abnormal conditions and wearing down the opponent. Despite the escalating tensions, Takaichi has refused to retract her remarks, a stance analysts say may be vindicated by her strong election mandate, though she has indicated she will be more careful about commenting on specific scenarios.

Ireland's Data Protection Commission announced Tuesday it has opened a European Union privacy investigation into X's Grok AI chatbot after it generated nonconsensual deepfake images on the platform. The investigation focuses on the apparent creation and posting of 'potentially harmful' nonconsensual intimate or sexualized images containing personal data from Europeans, including what researchers said appeared to be images of children. Ireland's regulator leads EU privacy enforcement because X's European headquarters is based in Dublin.

Grok sparked global backlash last month when it began granting X user requests to digitally undress people or place them in transparent bikinis and revealing clothing using AI image generation capabilities. The company later introduced restrictions, though European authorities deemed them insufficient. The Irish watchdog said it has been engaging with X since media reports emerged weeks earlier about the chatbot's capabilities. Grok was built by Elon Musk's xAI company and is available through X, where responses to user requests are publicly visible.

The investigation will determine whether X complied with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which can result in hefty fines for violations. X did not respond to requests for comment. The platform faces additional scrutiny in Europe—French prosecutors raided X's Paris offices and summoned Musk for questioning earlier this month, while British data privacy and media regulators have opened their own investigations. X is already under a separate EU investigation over compliance with the bloc's digital rulebook requiring platforms to curb illegal content including child sexual abuse material.