Iran Readies For Big War; Zelensky Dithers Postpones Talks Predicts Failure; Russia Restarts Strikes (Alexander Mercouris)

0:00 - Iran prepares for possible American attack
2:23 - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei's speech
8:20 - Reports of Trump requesting plans for a swift, decisive attack on Iran
10:19 - Rumors of diplomatic talks between Iran and the US
14:13 - Lessons learned by Iran from June 2025 attacks and their increased preparedness
20:21 - Analysis of potential consequences of Iranian government collapse
23:50 - Discussion of Iran’s capability to close the Strait of Hormuz
24:43 - Shift to Ukraine conflict: expiration of the 7-day energy truce and Russian silence
30:06 - Russian negotiating position on Ukraine’s EU membership
41:00 - Lavrov’s recent statements rejecting Western security guarantees
48:32 - Zelenskiy’s admission of no substantive progress in negotiations
54:00 - US-Russia bilateral working group meeting in Miami focusing on sanctions and frozen assets
1:02:59 - Elon Musk’s update on Starlink changes affecting Russian drone attacks in Ukraine
1:15:05 - EU preparing 20th sanctions package, likely dropping oil price cap and targeting Russian shipping
1:23:05 - Russian naval escorts for merchant ships and the evolving “shadow fleet” situation
1:27:03 - Peskov’s statement on rapid Russian advances in Donetsk region



[Posted at the SpookyWeather2 blog, February 3, 2026.]