Russia Iran Fleets Conduct Hormuz Exercise Trump Delays Strike: Moscow Says Kiev Army Wasting Away (Alexander Mercouris)

00:00 Intro, Channel Reminder, and Overview
00:28 Current State: Ukraine and Middle East Conflicts
01:00 Middle East Tensions: US, Israel, Iran, and Global Maneuvers
03:01 Naval Deployments and Military Preparedness in the Gulf
07:07 China and Russia's Role, Naval Power Balances
12:03 Satellite Capabilities and Modern Warfare
15:39 Iran's Transition to Chinese and Russian Systems
19:40 Iran’s Missile Capabilities and the Prospect of Escalation
23:20 Strategic Scale-Up: US Assets, Historical War Precedents
30:03 Likely War Scenarios: Air, Missile, or Ground Operations
35:39 Lessons from Past Bombing Campaigns and Iran’s Resilience
41:03 Operational Challenges: Geography, Refueling, and Air Defense
47:01 Political Stakes: Risks for Trump and the US
55:02 Shifts to Ukraine: Geneva Talks and Russian Stance
01:04:06 Russia’s Unyielding Negotiation Line and Economy
01:11:20 Ukraine War Front Lines: Reports and Counteroffensives
01:15:00 Russian Military Update and Ukrainian Losses Trends
01:20:00 Outlook: Russian Objectives and Anticipated Offensive
01:21:00 Closing Thoughts, Channel Promo, and Outro



[Posted at the SpookyWeather2 blog, February 22, 2026.]