Anne Béade

Japan's population dropped by a record 2.5 percent in the span of five years, census data shows. It was the biggest decrease since the twice-a-decade survey started in 1920, and more than triple the decline recorded between 2015 and 2020 u.afp.com/SDGE

🇮🇷 Tehran's civilians learn assault rifle basics to fend off US Gathered around a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in central Tehran, a group of Iranians is learning to use an AK-47 assault rifle, in case it falls to them to defend the country from renewed US attacks.

Le mot « onigiri » fait son entrée dans le nouveau Robert 2027 ! 🎉 🍙Spécialité japonaise incontournable, l’#onigiri est une boule de riz, souvent triangulaire, garnie et enveloppée d’algue nori. Un petit mot japonais de plus dans la #LangueFrançaise 🇯🇵📚

Iranian brides and grooms ride in a parade of military jeeps at a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square, Tehran

🇯🇵 Japan cleaner goes viral with spa-like service for plushies A worn-out Pikachu plushie, tired teddy bear or stained stuffed animal can all get a new lease of life at a Japanese laundry service, making beloved toys squeaky clean again.

🎥 #Vidéo | Dans le sud de l’Irak, les marais mésopotamiens reprennent des couleurs après plusieurs années de sécheresse extrême. Alimentées par le Tigre et l’Euphrate, ces terres humides, inscrites au patrimoine mondial de l’Unesco,avaient été durement touchées par le changement climatique et les barrages en Turquie, en Iran et en Syrie. Les marais de Hawizeh n’ont pas connu un tel niveau depuis des années, explique le militant écologiste Ahmed Saleh Neema, en ajoutant qu’environ 85 % des zones humides sont désormais submergées, même si la profondeur de l’eau doit encore augmenter.

🇯🇵 Geisha spectacle in Kyoto celebrates arrival of spring Against a backdrop of blooming cherry blossoms, a group of geishas elegantly shuffle onto a stage in Japan's Kyoto city to begin a centuries-old performance celebrating the arrival of spring

🇮🇷 Tehran residents celebrate last day of Nowruz in park despite Trump threats Families gather in a Tehran park to celebrate Nature Day, the 13th day after Nowruz, marking the end of the Persian New Year. Iran has been at war for more than a month and US President Donald Trump has vowed to strike the country hard for another "two or three weeks".

🇯🇵 🌸 'Pure joy': Tourists flock to Kyoto to admire cherry blossom Cherry blossom season is reaching its peak in the Japanese city of Kyoto, drawing crowds of local and international visitors eager to enjoy landscapes adorned with the pink and white blooms. "It just makes everything feel brighter," says French tourist Emilie Lambert

As Tokyo's cherry blossom season nears its peak, locals and tourists alike flock to see the dazzling floral displays across the Japanese capital. A key tourist attraction, this year's blooms came five days earlier than the average due to unusually warm weather since mid-February, according to the country's weather agency

Israel says it has killed Iran's powerful national security chief Ali Larijani, in what would be a huge blow to the Islamic republic, as fresh strikes rocked the Middle East from Tehran to Baghdad. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Larijani was "eliminated last night", although this has not been confirmed by Iran. Earlier Tuesday, Israel's military said Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij paramilitary force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was killed Monday in a strike on Tehran. Reports of their deaths come less than three weeks after US-Israeli strikes on February 28 killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader since 1989, triggering a war that has engulfed the region. 📸 AFP

#BREAKING Iran's Assembly of Experts announces Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader

Killing Khamenei: Tactical Gain, Strategic Risk In the backdrop of #Khamenei’s killing, it is essential to look beyond the operational dimension and consider the broader strategic consequences. Eliminating Ali Khamenei is not be comparable to removing another hostile head of state. It might be a move with potentially transformative regional and global implications. A. From Geopolitical Conflict to Religious Confrontation Khamenei was not only Iran’s political leader. He was also a senior Shiite religious authority whose influence extends far beyond Iran’s borders. For millions of Shiites worldwide — in Iraq, Lebanon, the Gulf, South Asia, and beyond — he represents more than a ruler; he embodies religious legitimacy and ideological continuity. Targeting him could shift the framing of the conflict from a geopolitical struggle to a religious one. Once a confrontation is perceived as an attack on a major religious figure, the emotional and symbolic dimensions intensify. The conflict risks becoming less about deterrence and national security and more about identity, faith, and retribution. B. The Iranian System Is Bigger Than One Man While Khamenei has shaped Iran’s political trajectory for more than three decades, the Islamic Republic is not a personality-driven regime alone. It is supported by deeply institutionalized structures — particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the clerical establishment, and the Guardian Council. History shows that revolutionary systems under external attack tend to consolidate rather than fragment. The assumption that eliminating the Supreme Leader would cause regime collapse is speculative at best. It could just as plausibly produce elite cohesion and a more hardline posture. C. The Risk of Miscalculation One of the most significant dangers lies in misreading Tehran’s likely response. If Iranian leaders perceive the killing of the Supreme Leader as an existential escalation, they may feel compelled to respond proportionally to restore deterrence credibility, hence - What may be intended as a decisive blow could instead open a prolonged cycle of retaliation. D. The Nuclear Question Paradoxically, removing Khamenei could increase nuclear risk. Despite his ideological rigidity, Khamenei has historically demonstrated caution when it comes to overt nuclear weaponization. Since 2003, Iran has stopped short of openly crossing the weaponization threshold, maintaining strategic ambiguity while avoiding direct military confrontation with the United States. A successor may not share that restraint. A less experienced or more ideologically driven leader could conclude that only a nuclear deterrent can guarantee regime survival after such a dramatic strike. In that sense, a move designed to strengthen deterrence could accelerate the very nuclear breakout it seeks to prevent. E. The “Axis of Resistance” Test The reaction of Iran’s regional network — Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite militias, the Houthis — would be a critical indicator. A unified and forceful response could broaden the conflict regionally. A limited response might signal erosion within the Iranian-led axis. But even calibrated retaliation over time could entrench instability and prolong confrontation far beyond the immediate moment. The Strategic Bottom Line is that Eliminating Iran’s Supreme Leader might appear to offer a powerful symbolic and operational achievement. Yet the strategic risks are profound mainly Transforming a geopolitical contest into a religiously framed conflict While Strengthening regime cohesion instead of weakening it And empowering a potentially more radical successor that might Accelerat Iran’s nuclear decision-making. In the Middle East, high-impact actions rarely end with the event itself. They reshape incentives, identities, and risk calculations. The day after might not be more stable as we are hoping, but maybe far more dangerous, than the day before. #IranIsraelConflict

Back to Vienna talks. The cycle never ends.

VIDEO: People in the Iranian capital Tehran express mixed views on potential military escalation with the United States. "War is 100% likely to happen because this process, which both sides are pursuing, leads to war," says Habib, a 47-year-old shop owner in Tehran.

Told @AFP: Larijani is a true insider, a canny operator, familiar with how the system operates and familiar with the supreme leader's inclinations. barrons.com/news/the-veter…

US warships deployed to the Middle East. AFP Infographic of the American aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald Ford, and other warships which have been deployed to the Middle East, according to the US military

Japan has won Olympic gold in pairs figure skating for the first time. Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara delivered a flawless routine to the Gladiator soundtrack at Olympics’ pairs final earning the standing ovation from the crowd. This might be just the beginning of the ice skating success for Japan, as the country increases its investment in the sport. TIME reporter Alice Park explains. Read more here: time.com/7379070/japan-….?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=170226

🇮🇷 L'Iran a appelé mardi les États-Unis, où est attendu le Premier ministre israélien, à résister aux "influences destructrices" qui pourraient faire dérailler la reprise des pourparlers entre les deux pays, selon le ministère des Affaires étrangères ⤵️

From @TheAthletic: “I want to execute my tricks perfectly, win the gold medal and return to Japan,” Kokomo Murase said upon arriving in Italy for the Winter Olympics. As plainly as she said it, she did it, in an astonishingly technical big air final. nyti.ms/4kpIEdH