Accomplice not ruled out in Nancy Guthrie disappearance, Arizona sheriff says

2026-02-18 / CBS News

By Amanda Arden,

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Updated on: February 18, 2026 / 5:51 PM EST / CBS News

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Investigators have not ruled out that an accomplice aided the suspected kidnapper seen in doorbell camera video outside the Tucson, Arizona, home of Nancy Guthrie the night of her disappearance, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.

Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie, 84, was forcibly taken from her home in the middle of the night before she was reported missing Feb. 1. Nanos told CBS News partner network BBC News in an interview Tuesday that he believes Guthrie was targeted in the apparent abduction.

The video recovered from Guthrie’s Google Nest doorbell camera, which was shared by the FBI last week, is the only video that Google has been able to recover from the cameras at Guthrie’s home, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. There are additional cameras from the property that engineers are still working through as they try to recover usable video. Investigators are hopeful that tech companies working on the videos will uncover more, according to the sheriff’s department.

A combination of images captured by a security camera show what the FBI describes as an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance at her home in Tucson, Arizona, Feb. 1, 2026. Pima County Sheriff’s Department via Reuters

A reward from the 88-CRIME tipline was increased on Thursday to $102,500 — thanks to a $100,000 anonymous donation, the organization said — for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons involved in Guthrie’s disappearance. That reward is in addition to a $100,000 reward the FBI is offering.

Authorities haven’t named a suspect or person of interest in the case, and did not provide further information about a possible accomplice. The FBI described the suspect seen in the doorbell camera video as a male who is between about 5 feet, 9 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches tall with an average build.

“Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, her two siblings and their spouses were all cleared as suspects in the case, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced Monday as the high-profile investigation entered its third week.

Nanos said the Guthrie family has cooperated with investigators.

“We really put them through the wringer,” Nanos said. “We not just interview them, we take their cars, we take their houses, we take their phones, all this stuff — and we’re not taking it. They’re giving it to us voluntarily. They have been 100% cooperative with us through everything we’ve asked. They are victims. They are not suspects.”

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos at a briefing in Tucson, Arizona, Feb. 5, 2026. Reuters/Rebecca Noble

Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the night of Jan. 31 when her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, dropped her off at her house after she spent the evening with him and her daughter, Annie Guthrie, at their home, authorities said.

Since Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, Savannah Guthrie, Annie Guthrie and their brother, Camron Guthrie, have appeared in videos pleading for their mother’s return.

Investigators were looking into genetic genealogy options to check for matches with DNA evidence collected in the case after a DNA profile from a set of gloves didn’t produce a match in a national database maintained by the FBI, the sheriff’s department said Tuesday. The gloves were found about 2 miles away from Nancy Guthrie’s home.

The DNA profile also didn’t match with different DNA evidence collected at the home, the sheriff’s department said.

The sheriff’s office said Thursday that “biological evidence” found at Nancy Guthrie’s home was being analyzed and DNA profiles were “under lab analysis.”

Law enforcement sources told CBS News that investigators have been using a tracking device known as a “signal sniffer” in an effort to detect possible signals from Nancy Guthrie’s heart pacemaker, which showed a disconnect from her phone in the early morning hours the night she went missing.

CBS News has also learned the FBI is probing gun purchases in the Tucson area. According to the owner of an area gun store, an agent came in about a week or so ago and showed him several images with faces and names on them, and agents inquired about purchases in the last year.

Jared Eggleston contributed to this report.

In:

• Nancy Guthrie
• Savannah Guthrie

FIRST ON FOX: The president of a Florida insurance brokerage firm and the CEO of a marketing company were sentenced Wednesday to 20 years each in prison for leading a sprawling, $233 million Affordable Care Act fraud scheme that preyed on Florida’s most vulnerable residents — including homeless and jobless individuals and newly displaced hurricane victims — to pocket millions in unearned commissions.

Cory Lloyd, 46, of Stuart, Florida, and Steven Strong, 42, of Mansfield, Texas, were convicted of conspiracy and fraud for their roles in the scheme, which involved lying and falsifying government forms to obtain coverage for individuals and lying to or bribing would-be enrollees to sign up for plans even when they knew doing so would cost them their existing insurance coverage. In addition to their prison time, the pair were ordered to pay $180.6 million in restitution to their victims.

Lloyd and Strong profited handsomely for years from the scheme, Justice Department officials said, using the proceeds to purchase luxury vehicles, an 80-foot yacht and an oceanfront home in the Florida Keys.

“Preying upon medically compromised consumers to rob hundreds of millions of taxpayer-funded programs is evil and unforgivable,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News Digital in a statement.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S BID TO MOVE BIDEN-COMMUTED DEATH ROW INMATES TO ‘ALCATRAZ OF THE ROCKIES’

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks alongside President Donald Trump.(Getty Images)

“Fraud schemes like this rob citizens and shake faith in our institutions. Today’s sentencing is the latest example of this DOJ’s commitment to fighting fraud nationwide,” Bondi said.

An estimated 35,000 individuals were fraudulently enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans during the years-long scheme led by Lloyd and Strong, Justice Department officials with knowledge of the case told Fox News Digital. The two sought more than $233 million in fraudulent payments, including about $180 million in federal Affordable Care Act funding.

“These defendants were sophisticated, licensed insurance brokers,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement.

“They had everything and intentionally took advantage of people who had nothing. The message from these sentences is simple: Those who seek to line their own pockets with taxpayer dollars, victimize our most vulnerable and deplete federal programs will be held accountable.”

The two intentionally targeted people in the state who were experiencing homelessness and people experiencing mental health disorders, including addiction to opioids or other drugs, according to materials reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Prosecutors said at trial that Lloyd and Strong conspired to circumvent federal income and eligibility verification safeguards. They also intentionally submitted Medicaid applications designed to trigger denials, allowing them to steer those same individuals into fully subsidized Affordable Care Act plans outside the open enrollment period, maximizing commissions year-round.

TRUMP DOJ APPOINTEE THOMAS ALBUS TAPPED TO LEAD FULTON COUNTY SEARCH WARRANT FIGHT

Former President Trump denied wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act(Getty Images)

Their lavish lifestyle contrasted starkly with that of the individuals they lied to and scammed.

“One of the really awful things about the case is that it’s not only a scheme that’s taking money from the elderly and the disabled and defrauding the taxpayers, but that it actually resulted in real harm to the patients as well,” one Justice Department official said in an interview.

That harm included individuals losing access to life-saving treatments for opioid use disorders, mental health disorders and serious infectious diseases.

Text messages introduced at trial showed Strong and Lloyd discussing sending “street marketers” into Florida hurricane shelters to recruit enrollees.

In one text exchange, Strong suggested sending their team of “street marketers” into Florida hurricane shelters to recruit enrollees. Lloyd responded enthusiastically, stating, “It’s a killer idea, if we could pull it off!”

Prosecutors said the efforts were particularly harmful because they disrupted existing coverage plans and jeopardized access to treatment for serious conditions.

Many of the victims were experiencing homelessness or unemployment or qualified for Medicaid coverage — an insurance option for low-income or vulnerable populations that, in many cases, best suited their needs.

Jurors heard from a Jacksonville-based psychiatrist who treats homeless individuals and testified about the harm some of his patients suffered as a result of the fraud, which caused them to lose their Medicaid coverage.

This included an individual “living in the woods behind Walmart” who was suffering from schizoaffective disorder, a person familiar with the case told Fox News Digital.

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP ADMIN NIXES GIANT WIND FARM APPROVED ‘LAST-MINUTE’ BY BIDEN TEAM

Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, joined by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, delivers remarks during a press conference announcing the largest health care fraud case in history.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Like others, this individual had previously been enrolled in Medicaid, which covered the entirety of a $2,000 shot used to treat the schizoaffective disorder. Enrollment in an Affordable Care Act plan caused the individual to lose that coverage.

The sentencing comes as the Justice Department has moved aggressively to crack down on healthcare fraud, including through its ongoing “strike force” program that operates across 25 federal districts and has resulted in criminal charges against about 5,000 individuals, according to information shared with Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

It also comes as the DOJ’s Health Care Fraud Unit secured the largest national healthcare fraud takedown in its history in 2025, officials said, charging more than $15 billion in alleged losses and forfeitures and returning more than $560 million to the public.

Justice Department officials noted the amount is “many, many, many times our annual budget.”

Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.

美称俄乌会谈取得实质性进展 泽连斯基对会谈结果不满

2026年2月19日 07:04 / 联合早报

美国白宫新闻秘书莱维特星期三（2月18日）说，俄罗斯和乌克兰在瑞士日内瓦举行的美俄乌三方会谈中取得“实质性进展”，未来还会举行新一轮会谈。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基则说，他对最新一轮的会谈结果感到不满，并指“敏感的政治问题”并没有得到妥善解决。

美俄乌三方会谈2月17日至18日在日内瓦举行，各方在会谈期间没有签署任何文件。

莱维特星期三在记者会上说，俄乌双方同意向各自领导人通报会谈情况，并继续共同努力达成和平协议。

俄方代表团团长梅金斯基形容谈判“艰难但务实”。

泽连斯基则在星期三晚的视频讲话中说：“截至目前，我们不能说会谈结果令人满意。军方认真且实质性地讨论了一些问题。但敏感的政治问题、可能的妥协方案，以及领导人会晤的必要性尚未得到充分讨论。”

他强调，欧洲代表出席日内瓦会议至关重要，并认为2月晚些时候举行下一轮会谈是合适的。

Exclusive: US plans online portal to bypass content bans in Europe and elsewhere

February 18, 2026 8:56 PM UTC / Reuters

By Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk and Gram Slattery

节点运行失败

A woman views her phone as she walks past street art on a wall in London, Britain, December 18, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• Launch planned for last week was delayed
• Portal team includes former DOGE member Coristine
• Officials discussed including a VPN function

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department is developing an online portal that will enable people in Europe and elsewhere to see content banned by their governments including alleged hate speech and terrorist propaganda, a move Washington views as a way to counter censorship, three sources familiar with the plan said.

The site will be hosted at “freedom.gov,” the sources said. One source said officials had discussed including a virtual private network function to make a user’s traffic appear to originate in the U.S. and added that user activity on the site will not be tracked.

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Headed by Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers, the project was expected to be unveiled at last week’s Munich Security Conference but was delayed, the sources said.

Reuters could not determine why the launch did not happen, but some State Department officials, including lawyers, have raised concerns about the plan, two of the sources said, without detailing the concerns.

The project could further strain ties between the Trump administration and traditional U.S. allies in Europe, already heightened by disputes over trade, Russia’s war in Ukraine and President Donald Trump’s push to assert control over Greenland.

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The portal could also put Washington in the unfamiliar position of appearing to encourage citizens to flout local laws.

In a statement to Reuters, a State Department spokesperson said the U.S. government does not have a censorship-circumvention program specific to Europe but added: “Digital freedom is a priority for the State Department, however, and that includes the proliferation of privacy and censorship-circumvention technologies like VPNs.”

The spokesperson denied any announcement had been delayed and said it was inaccurate that State Department lawyers had raised concerns.

The Trump administration has made free speech, particularly what it sees as the stifling of conservative voices online, a focus of its foreign policy including in Europe and in Brazil.

Europe’s approach to free speech differs from the U.S., where the Constitution protects virtually all expression. The European Union’s limits grew from efforts to fight any resurgence of extremist propaganda that fueled Nazism including its vilification of Jews, foreigners and minorities.

U.S. officials have denounced EU policies that they say are suppressing right-wing politicians, including in Romania, Germany and France, and have claimed rules like the EU’s Digital Services Act and Britain’s Online Safety Act limit free speech.

The EU delegation in Washington, which acts like an embassy for the 27-country bloc, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the U.S. plan.

In rules that fall most heavily on social media sites and large platforms like Meta’s (META.O), opens new tab Facebook and X, the EU restricts the availability — and in some cases requires rapid removal — of content classified as illegal hate speech, terrorist propaganda or harmful disinformation under a group of rules, laws and decisions since 2008.

FRICTION WITH EUROPEAN REGULATORS

---

Rogers of the State Department has emerged as an outspoken advocate of the Trump administration position on EU content policies. She has visited more than half a dozen European countries since taking office in October and met with representatives of right-wing groups that the administration says are being oppressed. The department did not make Rogers available for an interview.

In a National Security Strategy published in December, the Trump administration warned that Europe faced [“civilisational erasure”] because of its migration policies. It said the U.S. would prioritize “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations.”

EU regulators regularly require U.S.-based sites to remove content and can impose bans as a measure of last resort. X, which is owned by Trump ally Elon Musk, was hit with a 120 million-euro fine in December for noncompliance.

Germany, for example, in 2024 issued 482 removal orders for material it deemed supported or incited terrorism and forced providers to take down 16,771 pieces of content.

Similarly, Meta’s oversight board in 2024 ordered the removal of a Polish political party’s posts that used a racial slur and depicted immigrants as rapists, a content category EU law treats as illegal hate speech.

Calling the U.S. plan “a direct shot” at European rules and laws, former State Department official Kenneth Propp, who worked on European digital regulations and is now at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, said freedom.gov “would be perceived in Europe as a U.S. effort to frustrate national law provisions.”

Also involved in the U.S. portal effort is Edward Coristine, a former member of Musk’s job-slashing Department of Government Efficiency, two sources said. Coristine works with the National Design Studio, created by Trump to beautify government websites. Reuters was unable to reach Coristine for comment.

It was not clear what advantages the U.S. government portal would offer users that are not available from commercial VPNs.

The web address freedom.gov was registered on January 12, according to the federal registry get.gov. On Wednesday, the site had no content but showed the National Design Studio’s logo, the words “fly, eagle, fly” and a log-in form.

Before Trump’s second term, the U.S. government helped fund commercial VPNs and other tools as part of efforts to promote democracy globally and help users access free information in China, Iran, Russia, Belarus, Cuba, Myanmar and other countries.

Reporting by Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk and Gram Slattery; Additional reporting by Gabriel Stargardter in Paris; Editing by Don Durfee and Cynthia Osterman

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白宫：超过20国出席特朗普周四主持的和平委员会 | 联合早报

发布/2026年2月19日 07:23

白宫：超过20国出席特朗普周四主持的和平委员会

美国总统特朗普主持的和平委员会首次正式会议将在华盛顿的美国和平研究所召开。 （路透社）

白宫说，美国总统特朗普将于星期四（2月19日）在华盛顿主持召开和平委员会首次正式会议，届时他将宣布成员国已承诺向加沙重建和人道主义援助提供超过50亿美元（约63亿新元）的资金。

白宫新闻秘书莱维特星期三（18日）告诉记者，超过20个国家将参加此次会议，并补充说，成员国已承诺为加沙国际稳定部队提供数千名人员。

被问及梵蒂冈决定不参与和平委员会时，莱维特称此举令人“深感遗憾”。

1月23日，特朗普在瑞士达沃斯签署文件，正式成立和平委员会。该委员会的成立得到了联合国安理会决议的认可，是特朗普加沙重建计划的一部分。

莱维特说：“总统有一个非常大胆且雄心勃勃的重建加沙计划和愿景，在和平委员会的帮助下，这项计划正在顺利进行。这是一个合法组织，拥有来自世界各地的数十个成员国。”

延伸阅读

特朗普：和平委员会成员承诺出资逾50亿美元重建加沙 内坦亚胡宣布以色列加入特朗普的和平委员会

特朗普宣布启动的和平委员会不仅负责监督加沙临时治理，之后还会扩大职能，解决全球冲突。一些专家担心，这个委员会可能削弱联合国的权威。

各国政府对特朗普的入会邀请反应谨慎。部分中东盟友已经加入，但许多传统西方盟国至今仍未参与。

Man accused of charging Capitol with shotgun said he wanted to speak to member of Congress, prosecutors say

By Holmes Lybrand | 2 hr ago | PUBLISHED Feb 18, 2026, 4:28 PM ET

An 18-year-old who charged the US Capitol with a loaded shotgun while wearing a tactical vest was seen on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, US Capitol Police said.

United States Capitol Police

The 18-year-old accused of running up to the US Capitol with a loaded shotgun on Tuesday told officers he wanted to talk to a member of Congress, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

The man from Georgia, Carter Camacho, made his initial appearance in federal court Wednesday on a charge of unlawfully possessing a firearm on US Capitol grounds. Camacho did not enter a plea and will remain behind bars while awaiting a detention hearing in early March.

The defendant appeared in court wearing the same military fatigues he was arrested in on Tuesday, when prosecutors say a Capitol Police officer saw the shotgun he was carrying and ordered him to drop the weapon and get down on the ground.

The criminal complaint against Camacho does not shed light on his direct intentions but says that when asked by Capitol Police, he said “he was just there to talk to a Member of Congress.”

Prosecutors say images included in the court documents show Camacho running up to the Capitol with the shotgun in both hands before being stopped by Capitol Police.

An 18-year-old who charged the US Capitol with a loaded shotgun while wearing a tactical vest was quickly arrested Tuesday, February 17, 2026, US Capitol Police said.

United States Capitol Police

According to the complaint, as Camacho approached the Capitol, an officer asked him what he was carrying. Camacho held up the shotgun in his right hand. He was then ordered to lie on the ground and “immediately complied,” the complaint says.

“The shotgun was loaded with seven rounds in the tube and one in the chamber,” the complaint states, noting that “the safety was off” and “an additional 17 rounds of ammunition were located in a carrier attached to the stock of the shotgun.”

Camacho was not on Capitol Police’s radar before they encountered him on the steps of the Capitol, the law enforcement agency said.

In addition to the apparent body armor he was wearing, a gas mask and Kevlar helmet were found in the car he drove and parked nearby, according to Capitol Police. A fixed-blade knife was also located 40 feet from the car and in the path Camacho took to the Capitol, they said.

The 18-year-old said in court that he will be in his second semester in college. Sporting a narrow beard, Camacho sat rigid during the hearing, nodding along as the federal judge informed him of his rights, answering “OK” and “yes, your honor” when asked if he understood.

President Donald Trump praised civil rights activist Jesse Jackson as a “real hero” during a White House Black History Month event Wednesday, just a day after Jackson’s death.

“I wanted to begin by expressing a sadness that the passing of a person who was. I knew very well Jesse was a piece of work. He was a piece of work. But he was a good man. He was a real hero,” Trump said on Wednesday, earning cheers from the audience.

Trump hosted leaders from the Black community at the White House Wednesday to honor Black History Month in February. He remarked as the event kicked off that there was a “sold-out crowd” and that the upcoming White House ballroom would accommodate far more people.

VANCE, HARRIS, OBAMA ISSUE TRIBUTES TO REV JESSE JACKSON

Donald Trump and the Rev. Jesse Jackson with unknown singers from hotel lounge act at Tyson vs Holmes pre-fight party at Trump Plaza Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Jan. 22, 1988.(Jeffrey Asher/ Getty Images)

Trump had lamented Jackson’s death in a prior Truth Social post Tuesday, elaborating on Wednesday that the pair’s relationship got “better and better all the time.”

“A lot of people you get to know, they get worse and worse. Jesse got better and better. But I knew him well long before becoming president, and he really was special, with lots of personality, grit and street smarts,” Trump continued.

Jackson, 84, died Tuesday. His cause of death has not been identified, but he had suffered from health issues including living with a rare neurological condition.

RICHARD FOWLER: I RAN INTO JESSE JACKSON —AND INTO HISTORY: THE MAN WHO SHAPED A NATION

Jackson was a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, and longtime civil rights leader who joined Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s before his assassination, and was the founder of civil rights group, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

Donald Trump and Jesse Jackson attend Tyson-Spinks Boxing Match on June 27, 1988, at the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.(Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER REV JESSE JACKSON DEAD AT 84 AND MORE TOP HEADLINES

“I will tell you, he was gregarious and someone who truly loved people and a force of nature, who is, somebody that we’re going to greatly miss. And on behalf of everyone here today, I know you join me in sending our condolences to the entire family,” Trump continued.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson walks to the front of the “Invading our community with peace” weekly Friday peace walk led by St. Sabina Church in Auburn Gresham, Chicago, June 25, 2021.(Vashon Jordan Jr./Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Wednesday’s event included celebrating the legacy of Black Americans, economic wins under the Trump administration, as well as Trump reigniting his 2025 announcement that former Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, who served under Trump’s first term, would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Ben’s getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It’s the highest award you can have outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor,” Trump said.

U.S. planning to pull all troops from Syria, sources say

February 18, 2026 / 5:11 PM EST / CBS News

The U.S. is planning to withdraw about 1,000 remaining troops from Syria over the next two months, U.S. officials told CBS News, ending a roughly decade-long American military presence there as part of the fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS.

Troops departed the al Tanf garrison in southern Syria and the al Shaddadi base in the country’s northeast earlier this year.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report that the remaining U.S. forces are expected to leave.

The U.S. has had a presence in Syria since 2015, supporting an anti-ISIS coalition that included the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF controlled large portions of northeastern Syria for years amid a civil war that challenged Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

The security situation in the country has changed considerably since the Assad government collapsed in late 2024. The Trump administration has sought to work with new Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former rebel leader who has renounced his former ties with al Qaeda. His government has clashed with the Syrian Democratic Forces, before striking a deal last month that sought to integrate the Kurdish-led group into Syria’s armed forces.

For years, the Syrian Democratic Forces who partnered with the U.S. provided security for prisons and refugee camps holding thousands of ISIS prisoners and their families.

Earlier this month, the U.S. helped transfer 5,700 ISIS fighters from detention facilities in Syria to Iraqi custody, according to U.S. Central Command.

In December, two members of the Iowa National Guard and a translator were killed in an ambush attack by a lone ISIS gunman, according to the Pentagon. The Trump administration in retaliation launched a series of attacks as part of Operation Hawkeye Strike to hit ISIS targets.

American bases in Syria have also periodically faced attacks by Iranian-backed groups in recent years. And the U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria faced pressure from neighboring Turkey.

President Trump in his first term wanted to withdraw from Syria completely, and even announced all 2,000 troops would withdraw. His Defense Secretary at the time, Jim Mattis, resigned shortly after that, citing policy disagreements. Mr. Trump ended up agreeing to keep a small presence in the country.

Trump launches his ‘Board of Peace’ with billions pledged for Gaza, but many allies are wary

Updated Feb 18, 2026, 6:31 PM ET | PUBLISHED Feb 18, 2026, 4:51 PM ET | By Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood

When President Donald Trump convenes the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace on Thursday, he is expected to run it like one of his Cabinet meetings, a US official told CNN.

Instead of his Cabinet officials, however, he will be joined by representatives from countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Hungary and even Belarus, which is a member of the board despite being under US and European sanctions for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, several key allies are still staying away from membership.

In addition to Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner; US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz; US special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who sits on the executive committee for the Board; and High Representative Nickolay Mladenov, who serves as the key link between the board and the Palestinian technocratic committee, are all expected to speak, along with other attendees, according to a senior US official.

Two sources familiar with the matter said the countries attending the meeting as members were told they will have two minutes each to speak, but another source said Wednesday that allotment was now expected to be 90 seconds. According to the US official, Trump may ask specific countries for updates or opinions. There are expected to be updates on issues of security, humanitarian efforts and the Palestinian technocratic committee meant to run Gaza, the senior US official said.

Trump has previewed big announcements for the meeting, including billions of dollars to support the reconstruction of Gaza and personnel for the stabilization force there.

But there are lingering questions about the broad mission of the Board of Peace, its effectiveness and the broader future of Gaza.

There is some concern in the international community that Trump has established the body as a counterweight to the United Nations, of which he has been a sharp critic.

In remarks on Monday, Trump confirmed that he thinks the Board is “going to go far beyond Gaza,” but said “we’re working in conjunction with the United Nations.”

Trump, who could serve indefinitely as chair of the board, has been eager to tout his credentials as a peacemaker and has argued he was snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize last year. The meeting is happening at the US Institute of Peace, which Trump has recently renamed for himself.

The meeting – and the board itself – are a clear example of Trump pursuing a foreign policy goal without collective buy-in from America’s closest allies: Most of the US’ traditional European allies have rejected membership. As such, they will not attend or will only send representatives as observers for Thursday’s meeting.

Many Middle Eastern countries will be present after having decided to join the Board, but it is unclear which, if any, of those countries will make the steep fiscal commitment of $1 billion to become permanent members. And many are sending their foreign ministers, rather than their heads of state, in part because the conference coincides with the start of Ramadan.

According to a senior Trump administration official, the following countries are expected to send representatives to the meeting either as observers or to represent a member state: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Iran looms over meeting

The inaugural meeting comes as the US military buildup in the Middle East is growing, and the specter of potential US military action against Iran is expected to loom large over the meeting. Trump has threatened that the US could strike Iran if a nuclear deal is not agreed to in the coming weeks.

“You can’t disassociate Iran from the Middle East or the Middle East from Iran,” one diplomat said.

Countries in attendance are expecting to discuss the Iran situation on the sidelines, with plans to reiterate that miliary action against Iran should be avoided.

“It’s not anybody’s preference to see a military action taking place in a region where we have at least 30% of the world’s oil concentrated, and around a place that is a basic passage of traffic for international trade,” the diplomat noted.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that more than 20 countries are expected to attend. The senior US official said the number includes countries participating as observers.

However, according to sources and public statements, many of the nations are not sending leaders to the meeting. Instead, they will be represented by foreign ministers or lower-level officials.

Israel, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Hungary and Belarus have all signed on as members of the board and are among the nations expected to have representation at the meeting.

At least five countries that have not joined the Board of Peace as members, including Italy and Romania, are expected to send representatives as observers. The European Union will be represented by Dubravka Šuica, the commissioner for the Mediterranean, to the meeting, a spokesperson said.

Many European countries have said they will not become members of the board, amid concerns about its broader mission, and its members. Russia and China were both invited to join but have not done so.

Chance for progress on Gaza’s future

On the whole, Thursday’s conversation is viewed by participants as “exploratory,” said one diplomat from a member nation. And while most countries attending the meeting know very little about what to expect from the meeting, some say that it represents the best chance to drive progress in Gaza.

There is an acknowledgement among some diplomats that Trump is best positioned to pressure the parties, particularly the Israeli government.

“Trump now has a big role and wants this to happen and he can control Bibi if he wants,” another source said, referencing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Indonesia is expected to highlight its announcement in recent days that it is readying about 1,000 troops – and possibly thousands more – to possibly be part of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza, according to two sources familiar with the matter. However, a final decision, to be made by the Indonesian president, has not yet been made.

A pledge of troops to the ISF would be a victory for the Trump administration, which has been working to secure troop commitments for months, even before the Board of Peace was officially launched.

However, as of now, there have been no public final commitments from governments to send troops to serve as part of the ISF. And the timeline for the deployment of the troops and whether or how they will be involved in demilitarization of Hamas – one of the biggest hurdles – remains unclear.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said the Board “will announce that Member States have pledged more than $5 BILLION DOLLARS toward the Gaza Humanitarian and Reconstruction efforts and have committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and Local Police to maintain Security and Peace for Gazans.”

Trump did not provide further details about the planned announcements. No country has publicly announced funding for the reconstruction effort.

On the issue of reconstruction, one source noted there are concerns about funding reconstruction only for Israel to bomb Gaza again, which has continually happened. US officials have offered private assurances that this won’t happen, the source said, and there is a belief among some that Trump will keep the Netanyahu government from doing so.

The source noted that many countries who will not commit troops to the ISF will be willing to give large amounts of money to support reconstruction.

The ISF, backed by the UN mandate, is a key component of the Trump administration’s peace plan. It is meant to deploy to Gaza in order to support a Palestinian police force and allow Israel to begin withdrawing from the territory it still occupies.

An Israeli official says the US is planning for 20,000 soldiers to be part of the ISF.

One of the thorniest parts of the Trump administration’s peace plan – the demilitarization of Hamas – has not yet been resolved.

One of the sources noted that there may be parallel tracks of deploying troops and beginning reconstruction while working on the issue of demilitarizing Hamas. Regional allies do not want Israel to use the lack of progress on phase two as an excuse, the source said, and there is an understanding by US officials and regional allies that demilitarization will be a long-term process.

The senior US official said they are under no illusions on the challenges regarding demilitarization but have been encouraged by what the mediators have reported back.

CNN’s Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.

This story has been updated with additional details.

美官员：预计伊朗将提交解决与美国僵局的书面提案 | 联合早报

发布/2026年2月19日 07:51

美国总统特朗普星期三警告英国不要放弃对印度洋查戈斯群岛的主权，称如果伊朗不与美国政府达成协议，可能需要动用该群岛的迪戈加西亚岛空军基地。 （法新社档案照片）

美国官员透露，伊朗预计将在星期二（2月17日）日内瓦举行的美伊会谈后提交一份关于如何解决与美国僵局的书面提案。

这名美国高级官员星期三（18日）告诉路透社，伊朗同意提交一份书面提案，说明如何解决美国的关切。“我们目前正在等待伊方的提案。”

这名官员还说，美国高级国家安全顾问星期三在白宫战情室举行会议，讨论伊朗问题，并被告知所有部署到中东地区的美国军事力量应在3月中旬前全部到位。“总统已下令继续在该地区集结兵力，包括第二个航母战斗群的抵达。所有兵力将于3月中旬全部部署到位。”

这名官员说，美国国务卿鲁比奥将于2月28日在以色列会见以色列总理内坦亚胡，讨论伊朗问题。

白宫星期三警告伊朗，“最好”与特朗普政府达成协议。

特朗普星期三在Truth Social再发文暗示，美国可能对伊朗发动军事打击。

特朗普警告英国不要放弃对印度洋查戈斯群岛（Chagos Islands）的主权，称如果伊朗不达成协议，可能需要动用该群岛的迪戈加西亚岛（Diego Garcia）空军基地，“以消除一个极不稳定且危险的政权可能发动的袭击”。

美国Axios新闻网站周三引述消息人士报道，如果美国对伊朗发动军事行动，很可能是一场为期数周的大规模行动。美国和以色列很可能将联合行动，规模将比去年6月的“12日战争”大得多，对伊朗更具“生存性威胁”，也将对整个地区产生深远影响。