President Donald Trump said Friday that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen,” signaling a markedly harder posture toward Tehran as U.S. military assets continue to flow into the region. “For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking, and in the meantime, we’ve lost a lot of lives while they talk,” Trump said. “Legs blown off, arms blown off, faces blown off — this has been going on for a long time. So let’s see what happens. In the meantime … tremendous power has arrived and additional power — as you know, another carrier is going out.” #BREAKING: President Trump today said regime change in #Iran “would be the best thing that could happen. For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking. In the meantime, we’ve lost a lot of lives while they talk. Legs blown off, arms blown off, faces blown off. We’ve… pic.twitter.com/SVtF3MDaU8 — Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) February 13, 2026 The remarks come as defense analysts say Iran’s strategic position has fundamentally shifted following the recent 12-day conflict, altering longstanding assumptions about both the regime’s durability and its military priorities. According to senior policy officials at the Jewish Institute of National Security of America (JINSA), Tehran is emerging from the conflict weaker in some respects, but more dangerous in others. “The clocks have been reversed,” said Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at JINSA, referring to the balance between regime longevity and nuclear breakout timelines. “Their nuclear program is back to zero — and they aren’t reinvesting,” following last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer, that destroyed three vital nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran. Instead, Misztal and other analysts said, Iran has redirected resources toward systems that proved most effective during the fighting, particularly ballistic missiles. “Iran’s ballistic missile program has gone leaps and bounds in both quality and quantity,” said Ari Cicurel, associate director of foreign policy at JINSA. “They are getting fuel mixtures from China. They started the 12-day war with 2,500 medium-range ballistic missiles, they are already back to 2,000.” That figure does not include what Cicurel described as thousands of short-range ballistic missiles currently in Iran’s arsenal. More concerning to U.S. defense planners, according to JINSA officials, is Iran’s evolving operational doctrine. Rather than relying on single-system attacks, Tehran has increasingly adopted mixed bombardment tactics designed to overwhelm air and missile defenses. Those strikes combine suicide drones, short-range missiles, and medium-range ballistic missile barrages to confuse radar, exhaust interceptors, and complicate targeting decisions. That strategy appeared to gain traction toward the end of the conflict. The United States alone expended roughly 150 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors during the fighting, according to JINSA estimates. “That represents about 25% of the American stockpile,” said Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow for American strategy at JINSA. “It could take 18 months to replenish that.” Ruhe added that War Secretary Pete Hegseth has already pressed manufacturers to expand production, but warned that industrial ramp-ups take time. Taken together, the assessments paint a more complex picture than traditional regime-change debates. Iran’s nuclear ambitions may have been set back substantially, but its conventional strike capabilities, particularly missiles designed to stress U.S. and allied defenses, are rapidly rebounding. Iranian officials, for their part, are publicly striking a defiant but conciliatory tone, insisting that Tehran seeks diplomacy even as it prepares for escalation. In an interview aired Tuesday on PBS NewsHour, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the idea that Iran is driving the current confrontation, portraying the regime as a long-standing victim of Western aggression. “No human person of common sense welcomes war. No one wants war,” Baghaei said. “For the past 47 years, we have been facing these threats, which are unlawful, unwarranted, unjustified. We have always lived with these looming threats.” Baghaei argued that Iranian society has grown accustomed to the prospect of conflict and framed resistance as a matter of national survival rather than ideological choice. “Our people have been courageous,” he said, describing U.S. pressure as an attempt “to impose their will on our people.” He also sought to shift responsibility for the breakdown in U.S.–Iran relations squarely onto Washington, citing what he described as an “unlawful attack” on Iran’s nuclear facilities during previous diplomatic efforts. “The distrust between the United States and Iran is very deep, and it is not because of Iran’s behavior,” Baghaei claimed, adding that Iran’s decision to reenter talks despite past outcomes was itself an act of restraint. The divergence between U.S. analysts and Iranian officials is the foundation of the central tension facing U.S. policymakers: Iran publicly speaks the language of negotiation, even victimhood, while investing heavily in the tools of coercion. The United States, meanwhile, confronts an adversary whose nuclear clock may have been reset, but whose conventional strike capacity is recovering faster than Western stockpiles can be replenished. Trump’s comments suggest a growing impatience with that equilibrium. Whether Iran’s professions of restraint signal genuine diplomatic openness or simply a pause before the next phase of confrontation remains the unresolved question hanging over Washington, Tehran, and the region.

As the sun set in Paris, a suspected Islamist terrorist was shot after charging French police with a bladed weapon near the Arc de Triomphe during a solemn ceremony Friday evening, authorities said. The attack unfolded shortly before the daily rekindling of the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, one of France’s most symbolically charged national rites. Police identified the assailant as Brahim Bahrir, a 48-year-old French national who had been released from prison on Dec. 24, 2025, after serving 12 years of a 17-year sentence for terrorism-related violence. According to a report from the Associated Press, Bahrir was convicted in 2013 for stabbing three Belgian police officers in Molenbeek, a Brussels suburb, as part of a terrorist enterprise. He was later transferred to France to complete his sentence before his release late last year. The Friday attack occurred shortly after 6 p.m. local time as members of the Republican Guard were conducting the Flame-of-the-Unknown-Soldier ceremony. Bahrir reportedly lunged at an officer, armed with a knife and scissors, prompting police to open fire. One officer sustained minor injuries before another officer shot the suspect multiple times, stopping the attack. French authorities said no bystanders were injured. Bahrir was transported to the Georges-Pompidou European Hospital in critical condition, but later died of his wounds, according to the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office. Officials confirmed that Bahrir was already known to authorities and had been placed under post-release surveillance due to his prior radicalization and assessed threat level. He was subject to routine reporting requirements at the time of the attack. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the incident as an act of terrorism and praised the police response, commending officers for their composure and for preventing what he said could have been far worse during a ceremony attended by civilians, including schoolchildren. À l’Arc de Triomphe ce soir, alors que la Flamme était ravivée, une attaque terroriste a visé la Garde républicaine. Je salue le courage et le sang-froid exemplaires de nos gendarmes et de nos militaires de Sentinelle : ils ont mis fin à l’attaque et évité le pire.… — Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 13, 2026 The nearby metro station was temporarily closed at the request of police, and security forces sealed off the area around the monument, which was converted into a crime scene. The traffic circle surrounding the Arc de Triomphe remained open, though the landmark itself was closed to the public as the investigation began at the scene of the crime. France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation into the attack. The incident comes amid renewed scrutiny across Europe over Islamist violence carried out by individuals already known to security services, often following prison release. Recent attacks and foiled plots in France, Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom have fueled concerns that existing monitoring regimes are insufficient to contain the long-term threat posed by radicalized offenders, particularly as European governments grapple with high levels of immigration from regions affected by Islamist extremism and ongoing instability. Friday’s attack, carried out at the heart of French national symbolism by a convicted terrorist under supervision, is likely to intensify debate over counterterrorism enforcement, post-release monitoring, and whether Western governments are adequately confronting the ideological roots of Islamist violence rather than merely responding to its aftermath.

The following is an edited transcript excerpt from The Michael Knowles Show. * * * There is some good news on immigration. CBS News published a new report on the rise of self-deportations. As you know, CBS has made a move closer to the center. Historically, CBS has been a pretty left-wing news source that is until the hiring of Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief. Bari is more center-Left. She’s not center-Right and she’s not a conservative in any way. But she is far more reasonable than her predecessors. Well, CBS has a story on a record number of illegal-alien detainees giving up their cases and voluntarily leaving the country, and that figure only appears to be climbing. CBS NEWS: “A record number of detainees are giving up their cases and voluntarily leaving the country… That figure only appears to be climbing.”

An illegal immigrant from El Salvador with half a dozen criminal convictions in California was one of the many illegals with serious criminal records arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Wire.  ICE arrested Jose Lopez-Arevalo, who has convictions for assault with a deadly weapon, vehicle hit-and-run, false imprisonment, grand theft, evading police, and driving under the influence in the San Francisco area. The arrest comes as Democrats look to slash ICE’s ability to combat illegal immigration.  “Yesterday, the brave men and women of ICE arrested heinous criminal illegal aliens convicted for sex crimes against children, felony battery, and one monster convicted for SIX offenses, including a hit-and-run and grand theft,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Wire. Funding for DHS is set to expire at midnight unless Congress makes a deal. Democrats have issued a series of demands, including changing the warrants used for immigration arrests and banning agents from wearing masks. Despite the impending funding lapses, ICE has continued to make arrests. According to DHS, others arrested on Thursday included:  Juan Eulises Garcia-Alvarado, an illegal alien from El Salvador, convicted of possessing sexual performance by a child less than 16-years-old in Suffolk County, New York Martin Rodriguez-Hernandez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in Hidalgo County, Texas Jose Garcia-Acevedo, an illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of felony battery in Wildwood, Florida Juventino Madrigal-Oseguera, an illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of conspiring to traffic cocaine in Guilford County, North Carolina “There is absolutely no reason these violent criminals should remain in this country,” McLaughlin said. “While sanctuary politicians and activist judges release criminals into our communities, our law enforcement officers are risking their lives to remove public safety threats from American neighborhoods.”

Ex-CNN host Don Lemon pleaded not guilty in a federal court in Minnesota on Friday over his alleged participation in an anti-ICE mob that stormed a St. Paul church last month. Lemon livestreamed as he accompanied a group of anti-ICE agitators who sat in the Sunday service at Cities Church before loudly interrupting and terrorizing congregants. The video showed Lemon appearing to cover for the group as they met to discuss their plans ahead of time. Lemon described the operation as a “secret” and said, “[I] can’t tell you what is going to happen, but you’re going to watch it live unfold here on the Don Lemon Show.” At one point, he said he “turned our camera off of them because they’re giving some critical information here.” Lemon could also be seen thanking Nekima Levy Armstrong, who is also charged for her alleged role in leading the mob, and kissing her on the cheek. The ex-CNN anchor appeared in court on Friday alongside Armstrong and three other defendants. Federal authorities arrested Lemon in Los Angeles late last month, charging him with conspiracy to violate the right of religious freedom at a house of worship. He was also charged with violations of the FACE Act, which prohibits the disruption of worship services. The Biden administration infamously weaponized the FACE Act against peaceful anti-abortion protesters. Lemon has maintained that his actions during the church-storming incident are protected by the First Amendment since he was there under the guise of being an independent journalist. He could be heard in his livestream telling multiple parishioners that he was “not part of the group.” “I’m just here photographing, I’m a journalist,” he said. “We’re here just chronicling and reporting. We’re not part of the activist, but we’re here just reporting on them,” he said at another point. An attorney representing Cities Church said Lemon is not immune from prosecution. “By pleading not guilty, Don Lemon and other defendants are doubling down on their claim that the press can do whatever they want under the auspices of journalism, while also defending the invasion of a church. This was a coordinated planned operation,” Renee Carlson, General Counsel for True North Legal, said Friday. “The First Amendment does not protect premeditated schemes to violate the sanctity of a sanctuary, disrupt worship services, or intimidate children. There is no ‘press pass’ to trespass on church property or conspire to invade religious worship,” Carlson said, adding “It is not ‘journalism’ to accost a pastor who was about to read Scripture to his congregation.” During Friday’s hearing, Abbe Lowell, Lemon’s lead attorney, asked for his client’s phone back after federal authorities confiscated it during his arrest, according to the Associated Press. The phone is currently in the hands of the Department of Homeland Security and a search warrant for it is sealed, prosecutors said, adding that it can’t be returned until a search is completed. When he exited the church, Lemon acknowledged the terror inflicted upon worshippers as he pointed out a father hugging his distraught child. “You have to make people uncomfortable in these times. If you see how uncomfortable … and how harsh people are being treated on the streets, you have to be willing to go into places and disrupt and make people uncomfortable. That is what this country is about,” he later said. Lemon also engaged in a debate with one of the parishioners who accused the ex-CNN host of merely posing “as a journalist.” READ MORE: All The Times Don Lemon Made The Case Against Himself In His Livestream