By DAVID KLEPPER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Central Intelligence Agency offered help to potential informants in Iran on Tuesday, providing Farsi-language instructions on ways to safely contact the U.S. spy agency as President Donald Trump mulls possible military strikes.

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The post is the latest in a series of recruitment pitches in Farsi, Korean, Russian and Mandarin that offered secure ways to contact the CIA. The Farsi-language message posted Tuesday to X, Instagram and YouTube, however, comes at an especially uneasy time in U.S.-Iran relations and as the Iranian theocracy faces new protests at home.

The U.S. has assembled its largest military force in the Mideast in decades as tensions with Iran have risen. Trump threatened military action in January in response to the government’s fierce crackdown on national protests before shifting his focus to Iran’s disputed nuclear program and warning it to make a deal. Another round of nuclear talks is planned for later this week.

In a sign of new unrest in Iran, students held anti-government protests at universities in Tehran on Monday.

“Hello. The Central Intelligence Agency hears you and wants to help,” the agency wrote in the message, according to an English translation. “Here are some tips on how to make a secure virtual call with us.”

The Farsi-language post racked up millions of views within just a few hours.

People drive their motorbikes in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The agency won’t say if earlier recruitment videos have resulted in tips or new sources, but Director John Ratcliffe has said the posts are having an impact.

“Last year, CIA’s Mandarin video campaign reached many Chinese citizens, and we know there are many more searching for a way to improve their lives and change their country for the better,” Ratcliffe said earlier this month when a new Mandarin video was posted.

The CIA’s tips include using a virtual private network, or VPN, to circumvent internet restrictions and surveillance, and the use of a disposable device that can’t easily be traced back to the user. The CIA also urged potential informants to use private web browsers and to delete their internet history to cover their tracks.

Women walk at the shrine of Saint Saleh during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in northern Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The instructions include ways to reach the CIA on its public website or on the darknet, a part of the internet that can only be accessed using special tools designed to hide the user’s identity. The CIA has also posted similar instructions in Russian.

A spokesperson for Iran’s Mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment about the new video.

Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report from New York.

The gold-medal-winning U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team landed at Joint Base Andrews and visited President Donald Trump at the White House before attending his State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

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Forward Matthew Tkachuk posted pictures on social media of members of the team celebrating on what appears to be a U.S. government plane and a group shot of them deplaning.

The U.S. beat Canada 2-1 in overtime on Sunday at the Milan Cortina Olympics. It was the Americans’ first gold medal in men’s hockey since the “Miracle on Ice” group won in Lake Placid, New York, in 1980.

The team received a State of the Union invitation from Trump following the game. A video that circulated on social media appeared to show Trump inviting the team on a phone call in the locker room, as he joked that he’d also have to invite the women’s team, which also won gold over Canada.

The women declined, citing scheduling issues.

The men took a chartered plane to Miami on Monday night before traveling to the nation’s capital in the morning.

Videos and photos of the team’s White House visit were shared on social media by Trump administration aides. Team members posed for a photograph in front of the South Portico after they arrived. They also walked along the West Wing colonnade where Trump has posted portraits of every U.S. president just steps away from the Oval Office, where they were welcomed by Trump.

As they approached the Oval Office, some of the players popped into the press office’s open door to flash their medals. Staffers applauded and shouted, “We love you!”

“I recognize every one of you. I know every one of you,” Trump said as the players entered the Oval Office, which he has redecorated with numerous flourishes of gold that matched the players’ medals.

“Big guys,” he said, standing near his desk and shaking hands with the players, who wore dark tops with “USA,” the American flag and the Olympic rings on the front and light colored pants.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Ryan Jeffers has long believed that his body could handle the rigors of an increased workload behind the plate. Now, it seems he’ll finally get his chance to prove it.

Ryan Jeffers #27 of the Minnesota Twins poses during the 2024 Minnesota Twins Photo Day on Feb. 22, 2024 at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

For the past three seasons, the Twins have been committed to splitting the workload between Jeffers and Christian Vázquez evenly, alternating between the two to keep each fresh. But Vázquez’s three-year contract expired after last season, and now Jeffers, coming off what he called his “smoothest offseason” from a health standpoint, is ready to become the Twins’ No. 1 catcher.

“Every year, I’ve grown up in this game,” Jeffers said. “I’ve gotten better at the routine and what I do in the offseason to prepare for the year. I’ve always prepared to catch a full workload, so nothing for that really changed for me this offseason.”

With Vázquez gone, the Twins first brought in Alex Jackson in a minor trade and later signed Victor Caratini to a two-year deal. But while Caratini has plenty of major league experience, the Twins don’t seem to be planning on going back to the set-up they’ve used in recent years.

Hours before the Twins brought in Caratini, manager Derek Shelton called Jeffers to give him some assurances.

“Jeffers is going to be the C1,” Shelton said last month. “We’ve talked to Victor about it. The thing we thought about there is get a guy we think … is going to play behind Ryan, but he can also play first, he can also DH.”

Jeffers got a little taste of that last season when Vázquez had an infection in his shoulder and ended up on the injured list and he caught 21 games in August. But his chance to show that his body could adapt to the added workload was cut short in early September by a concussion that forced him to the injured list, too.

“My body arguably felt better some of those days than it did when I was catching every other day,” Jeffers said. “Physically, it felt really good. … I felt great and was playing well. The body was not struggling at all. Over 162 (games), how does that change? I’m not sure.”

Jeffers said he has prepared himself to catch 120 games but doesn’t expect that to happen. Last year, he played in 119 games, 88 of them at catcher. He caught right around 700 innings last year; 120 games would be roughly 1,080 innings caught, a number eclipsed last year by only Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto and Milwaukee’s William Contreras.

Instead, Jeffers is shooting for somewhere in the range of 105 to 110 games, which would be two thirds of the season. He has gotten a fair share of his at-bats at designated hitter in recent years, which should continue this year.

“That’s who I am, is a catcher,” Jeffers said. “A full catcher workload is 110-ish games, so if I want to be a full-time catcher, that’s where I want to be.”

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The smackdown in St. Paul is back for another edition, with the state wrestling tournament again gracing the downtown scene — this time a day earlier.

Four days of grapples, reversals and takedowns are on deck at Grand Casino Arena. If you can’t make it in person, you can stream the action for a fee on prepspotlight.tv/MSHSL.

Here are answers to a few burning questions ahead of the state wrestling tournament:

It’s a four-day event now?

Yes, the Minnesota State High School League secured an extra day at Grand Casino Arena to better space out the state wrestling tournament. Here’s the new set up:

Wednesday: Team state quarterfinals, team consolation semifinals and team state semifinals.

Thursday: Round 1 of the individual tournaments, team consolation finals and third-place matches, team state championships.

Friday: Individual quarterfinals, Round 1 of wrestlebacks, individual semifinals and Round 2 of wrestlebacks.

Saturday: Round 3 of wrestlebacks, individual consolation semifinals, individual fifth-place matches, individual third-place matches, and individual state championship matches.

Note: The final session on Saturday is from 1-5 p.m., putting the individual state championship matches around 3 p.m. versus the traditional Saturday night conclusion. The Wild have an afternoon game on Sunday, creating a short turnaround for the St. Paul arena crew.

Was the Class 2A state championship 10 days ago?

Simley is the top seed in Class 2A as it searches for a seventh state title in eight years. The Spartans are also the top-ranked team in the class. The second-ranked team won’t be in St. Paul when the team competition opens Wednesday because the Spartans defeated it earlier this month.

Simley was placed back in Section 1 this year, meaning its showdown with Kasson-Mantorville took place in the section final. The Spartans won 33-24 in a hotly contested dual that wasn’t determined until the 215-pound match.

In fact, Simley is the only team ranked in the top seven of The Guillotine’s final team rankings released Feb. 5 to reach the state tournament. Yet there are a number of quality teams in the field, with a number of ranked wrestlers throughout their lineups such as undefeated New Ulm and fourth-seeded Scott West.

Each of the five seeded teams in the class could prove frisky come semifinal time. But, yes, the Spartans are the favorites.

Can anyone beat St. Michael-Albertville?

Maybe in the final. The Knights has beaten second-seeded Stillwater twice already this season. There’s a reason they’re undefeated: Everyone in their first seven weight classes is ranked No. 1 or No. 2 individually in Class 2A.

But Stillwater has a lot more talent up top, and the quality of their wrestlers in the lighter weights — traditionally dominated by the Knights — will at least make it interesting.

The path to an upset of the Knights is likely the same as the Hastings used in the 2023 title match, when the Raiders won the final five matches of the dual to eke out a one-point victory.

Third-seeded Shakopee also is a threat given their high-end guys in the heavier weights. The Sabers and Ponies figure to put on a show in the semifinal, and whoever advances could at least give St. Michael-Albertville a run for its money Thursday night.

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