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Burkina Faso Vows to Fight Extremists, Zawahiri Threatens France

Soldiers stand guard in front of the Splendid Hotel after an attack on the hotel and a restaurant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Joe Penney
Soldiers stand guard in front of the Splendid Hotel after an attack on the hotel and a restaurant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Joe Penney
    Ouagadougou, London - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Burkina Faso Vows to Fight Extremists, Zawahiri Threatens France

Soldiers stand guard in front of the Splendid Hotel after an attack on the hotel and a restaurant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Joe Penney
Soldiers stand guard in front of the Splendid Hotel after an attack on the hotel and a restaurant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Burkina Faso’s President Mark Roch said his country would fight and defeat militants despite an attack last week which was claimed by Qaeda-affiliated group in Ouagadougou in which 8 people were killed and dozens wounded.

The president's comments came by the time Qaeda's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called on Muslims in Maghreb to fight French troops in the African Sahel, according to a video released Tuesday by the US-based Site group.

AFP reported that in the 7 minutes-long video titled "France Has Returned Oh Descendants of the Lions" Zawahiri did not comment on the attack in Ouagadougou claimed by Qaeda-affiliated group "Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin".

Zawahiri further noted that "Arab Spring" has failed, saying “the old corruption” returned and was “more ferocious and even more corrupt.”

Roch was joined by the presidents of neighboring Togo and Niger in a show of solidarity with each other and with former colonial master France, whose forces intervened five years ago to stop militants taking over neighboring Mali, according to Reuters.

Also, "Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin" has claimed responsibility on Saturday for the attacks on the army headquarters and French embassy in Ouagadougou that also killed eight gunmen.

“The fight against terrorism is a long one and in this combat no sacrifice will be too high in the defense of our fatherland,” Reuters reported Roch as saying.

“Recent events have shaken the Burkinabe people, but I assure you they will remain standing and end terrorism no matter what,” he added.

The double assault highlighted the growing risk from militants in the Sahel five years after the French intervention.

France is pinning hopes on the so-called G5 Sahel force — comprising the armies of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad — to enable it to start withdrawing the 4,000 troops it still has stationed in the region, Reuters reported.

The G5 permanent council, chaired by Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou, met in Ouagadougou on Monday although Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe was the only other president at the meeting.

“Terrorists ... seek to undo our alliance ... They say our allies are foreign troops. For us they are not foreign troops, they are allies fighting for the same cause,” Issoufou said.

Reuters noted that extremist groups have regrouped since the French intervention in 2013. They have expanded into central Mali, which they have used as a launchpad to hit Burkina Faso, Niger and Ivory Coast.

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World

Risk of ‘Escalation’ if Iran Attacked, Warns Deputy Foreign Minister

Iranians walk past shops selling food ahead of Iftar, the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, in northern Tehran on February 23, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past shops selling food ahead of Iftar, the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, in northern Tehran on February 23, 2026. (AFP)
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Risk of ‘Escalation’ if Iran Attacked, Warns Deputy Foreign Minister

Iranians walk past shops selling food ahead of Iftar, the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, in northern Tehran on February 23, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past shops selling food ahead of Iftar, the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, in northern Tehran on February 23, 2026. (AFP)

Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi warned of a wider escalation if his country was attacked, after US President Donald Trump raised the threat of strikes.

Trump has sent a major deployment of air and sea power to the Middle East and has threatened to strike Iran if it does not reach a deal on key concerns starting with its nuclear program.

"We call upon all nations committed to peace and justice to take meaningful steps to prevent further escalation," Gharibabadi said at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

"The consequences of any renewed aggression wouldn't remain confined to one country -- and responsibility would rest with those who initiate or support such actions."

Iranian and US negotiators held indirect talks in Geneva last week on Tehran's nuclear program, hosted by Oman.

A fresh round of talks in the Swiss city this Thursday has been confirmed by Muscat, though not by Washington.

"Iran remains committed to diplomacy and dialogue as the most effective path towards de-escalation and sustainable security," Gharibabadi said.

"Recent diplomatic engagement here in Geneva, which will continue this Thursday, demonstrates that a new window of opportunity exists for negotiations to address differences and build confidence -- provided that they uphold mutual respect, equitable treatment and non-selective application of international norms.

"Any sustainable and credible negotiation must respect the legitimate rights of all states under international law, and deliver tangible security benefits without coercion, unilateral demands or threats of force."

- 'Chaos and change' -

The United States and Israel threatened new military action against Iran after mass protests in the regime, which the Iranian authorities crushed at a cost of thousands of lives.

After last week's indirect talks with Washington through Omani mediators in Geneva, Tehran said they had reached broad agreement on a set of guiding principles.

Gharibabadi said that while Tehran sought the path of diplomacy, it was prepared to defend its sovereignty, territory and people, insisting it would exercise its right to self-defense "if necessary".

He said meaningful progress in disarmament and non-proliferation could only be achieved through mutual, balanced and legally-binding commitments.

He called upon nuclear weapons states to engage constructively in talks towards a comprehensive nuclear weapons convention, plus offer legally-binding security assurances for countries without nuclear weapons.

Speaking just before, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world was living through a period of "chaos and change", with international law being brazenly violated.

"The international order that defined security relations for nearly eight decades is shifting rapidly. The reckless use of force in many regions is fomenting mistrust," he warned.

World

Netanyahu Says Israel Facing ‘Challenging Days’ with Iran-US Tensions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a plenary session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a plenary session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
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Netanyahu Says Israel Facing ‘Challenging Days’ with Iran-US Tensions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a plenary session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a plenary session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 February 2026. (EPA)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel was facing "complex and challenging days" as tensions escalate between the United States and Iran following President Donald Trump's threat of strikes should Tehran refuse to accept a new nuclear agreement.

"We are in very complex and challenging days," Netanyahu told lawmakers in a brief address to parliament. "We are keeping our eyes open and are prepared for any scenario."

He also reiterated a warning to Iran's leadership: "I have conveyed to the Iranian regime that if they make the gravest mistake in their history and attack the State of Israel, we will respond with a force they cannot even imagine."

The premier further highlighted Israel's close military cooperation with the US, as Washington continues to build up its military presence near Iran and in the Middle East.

"The alliance with the United States has never been closer," Netanyahu said.

"Between the Israel forces and the United States military, between our security agencies and their security services, there has never been anything like this," he added.

Arch-foes Israel and Iran faced each other in a first direct confrontation last June during a 12-day war in which the Israeli military targeted Tehran's nuclear facilities and ballistic missile arsenal.

Iran responded with drone and missile strikes on Israel. Later on in the war, the United States joined Israel in targeting Iran's underground nuclear facilities.

World

Iranian Students Protest for Third Day as US Pressure Mounts

Iranians drive along a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranians drive along a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
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Iranian Students Protest for Third Day as US Pressure Mounts

Iranians drive along a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranians drive along a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 February 2026. (EPA)

Iranian students ‌defied authorities with protests for a third day on Monday, weeks after security forces crushed mass unrest with thousands killed and as the United States weighs possible air strikes against the country.

State media outlets reported students chanting anti-government slogans at Tehran University, burning flags at the all-women al-Zahra University, and scuffles at Amir Kabir University, all located in the capital.

Reuters also verified video showing students at al-Zahra University chanting slogans including "we'll reclaim Iran", but was not able ‌to confirm ‌when it was recorded.

In a new ‌sign ⁠of the mounting ⁠tension in the Middle East, the United States began pulling non-essential personnel and family members from the embassy in Beirut, a senior State Department official said.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran since major nationwide protests across the country in January, saying on Thursday that "really bad things will ⁠happen" if talks between the countries fail ‌to produce a deal.

Washington wants ‌Iran to give up much of its nuclear program, which ‌it believes is aimed at building a bomb, limit the ‌range of its missiles to short distances and stop supporting groups it backs in the Middle East.

It has built up forces across the Middle East, putting increased pressure on Iran ‌as it weighs its response to US demands amid ongoing talks.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali ⁠Khamenei ⁠already faces the gravest crisis of his 36-year tenure, with an economy struggling under the weight of international sanctions and growing unrest that broke out into major protests in January.

On Sunday Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said negotiations with the US had "yielded encouraging signals" even as a second US aircraft carrier headed towards the Middle East.

Trump has not laid out in detail his thinking on any possible Iran strike. A senior White House official told Reuters last week there was still no "unified support" within the administration to go ahead with an attack.