[GatewayPundit] The fallen heroes were identified as:
Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Alabama
Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Washington
Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Kentucky
Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Indiana
Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Ohio
Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Ohio RIP
I understand that a typical KC-135 crew consists of three members: a pilot, a co-pilot, and a boom operator - (2) Officers and (1) Enlisted.
Yet this aircraft was crewed by, essentially, (2) complete crews.
3 US Air Force, 3 US Air National Guard members were serving on the KC-135 that came down in an accident that authorities said wasn’t caused by ‘hostile fire or friendly fire’
The Pentagon on Saturday released the identities of six US crew members killed during the crash of a refueling aircraft in western Iraq earlier this week, which authorities said was not caused by "hostile fire."
The KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, bringing the number of US troops killed in operations against Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... to at least 13. A second aircraft involved in the operation landed safely in Israel.
The Pentagon said the six members killed in the crash were: John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama, referred to in some reports with the first name "Alex"; Ariana Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington; Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky; Seth Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana; Curtis Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio.
The first three were members of the US Air Force, while the latter three were stationed with the US Air National Guard.
The crash remains under investigation, Pentagon officials said, but US Central Command previously stated that "the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire."
The Islamic Resistance® in Iraq, which is a loose alliance of Iran-backed Iraqi factions, claimed to have downed a KC-135. They also said they had targeted another plane that escaped.
Since the start of the war, the alliance has been claiming daily attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region.
Klinner, 33, leaves behind three small children: 7-month-old twins and a 2-year-old son, his brother-in-law, James Harrill, said Saturday while confirming his death.
"It’s kind of heartbreaking to say: He was just a really good dad and really loved his family a lot — like a lot," Harrill said.
An outdoorsman who enjoyed hiking, Klinner was also ready to help others. When Harrill last saw him in January, Klinner had shoveled Harrill’s vehicle out of the snow during a family wedding.
"Alex was one of those guys that had this steady command about him," said Harrill, of Atlanta, who helped set up a GoFundMe site for Klinner’s family. "He was literally one of the most kindest, giving people."
Klinner, a graduate of Auburn University and an eight-year US Air Force veteran from Birmingham, Alabama, had just moved with his family into a new home, his wife, Libby Klinner, said in an Instagram post mourning his death.
She said her heart is broken for their children, who will grow up not knowing their father.
"They won’t get to see firsthand the way he would jump up to help in any way he could," she wrote. "They won’t see how goofy and funny he was. They won’t witness his selflessness, the way he thought about everyone else before himself. They won’t get to feel the deep love he had for them."
Simmons was a boom operator responsible for transferring fuel from the tanker to the receiving aircraft, according to his Air Force biography.
His mother, Cheryl Simmons, said Saturday that she was making funeral plans for her son.
In a statement obtained by WCMH-TV in Columbus, Tyler Simmons’ family said it was saddened beyond measure to hear of the fatal crash.
"Tyler’s smile could light up any room, his strong presence would fill it. His parents, grandparents, family and friends are grief stricken for the loss of life," they said.
The Ohio National Guard said Koval was an aircraft commander with 19 years of service. A graduate of Purdue University, he served in the Indiana National Guard before transferring to an Ohio unit in 2017, according to his Air Force biography.
Angst was a pilot with 10 years of service who graduated from the University of Cincinnati, according to his Air Force biography provided by the Ohio National Guard.
The KC-135 crash is at least the fourth US military aircraft lost during the war, after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait.
KC-135s, which have been in operation for more than 60 years, generally have a crew of three — a pilot, a copilot and a third who operates the boom used to refuel other aircraft, according to the US Air Force.
But some KC-135 missions require a navigator, and the aircraft can carry up to 37 passengers, an Air Force factsheet said.
Early in the war — which began on February 28 — Kuwaiti forces mistakenly downed three American F-15E fighters, but all six crew members were able to eject, according to CENTCOM.
That incident occurred during combat including "attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones," the military command said at the time. Non-crewmembers were likely 'Space Available' (SPACE-A) travelers catching a ride to or from a duty station.
#1
It was due to a mid-air with another KC-135R. The other aircraft landed safely with a damaged tail.
Posted by: Difar Dave ||
03/16/2026 11:09 Comments ||
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#2
I understand that a typical KC-135 crew consists of three members: a pilot, a co-pilot, and a boom operator - (2) Officers and (1) Enlisted.
Yet this aircraft was crewed by, essentially, (2) complete crews.
He suggests the extra crew was due to an extended mission where they needed spare guys. The collision happened when they were getting into a tanking pattern, not during refueling. He also addresses parachutes.
[ConservativeTreehouse] The Panicans will be greatly disappointed by the foresight and economic planning a proactive White House deployed before the confrontation with Iran began. [Video and Transcript Below]
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, leaves CBS’s Margaret Brennan stuttering to respond to the insight presented. As noted in the interview, proactively the Trump administration planned to mitigate any oil disruption for the U.S, undertaking a series of moves before Operation Epic Fury began.
Iran thinks “that they’re going to harm the U.S. economy and get President Trump to back down,” Hassett says. “There couldn’t be anything that was a stupider thing to say because the bottom line is that our economy has got all this momentum in the world and we’ve got lots and lots of oil,” he continued.
Then highlighting how the strength of the U.S. position actually ends up with leverage in trade negotiations, Hassett notes, “we have lots of trading partners that are more on the hook from imported oil from these guys.” Which draws attention to President Trump’s statement yesterday saying, in essence, ‘come guard your oil shipments while we kill bad guys’. WATCH:
Posted by: NoMoreBS ||
03/16/2026 00:00 ||
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[1758 views]
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#1
“There couldn’t be anything that was a stupider thing to say"
I'm sure Margaret Brennan took that as a challenge
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/16/2026 0:59 Comments ||
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[IsraelTimes] Tehran-backed group said to fear assassinations, divisions in Yemen and possible weapons shortages; restraint may be coordinated with Iran and change if regime gets more desperate.
#3
Yemen could try to blockade Red Sea access but that would mainly affect China since KSA has a pipeline that would allow much Europe-bound oil to be shipped anyway.
#4
The Houthis lost most of their senior officers to IDF missiles, and anyway they were being commanded by the IRGC — and probably the equipment was being handled by trained IRGC technicians who knew how to read. But the IRGC pulled out a while ago, when being there became too dangerous, so I have to wonder if the Houthis are even capable of using the toys the IRGC gave them.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Yemen may close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to American and Israeli vessels if it enters the Middle East conflict on Iran's side. This was stated on March 15 by senior Yemeni military official Abed al-Thawr.
"After a decision to intervene, the first step could be the formal announcement of a naval blockade against the United States and the Zionist regime. Merchant ships and military vessels, including aircraft carriers, destined for the US and occupied territories could be stopped," Iranian Press TV quoted al-Thawr as saying.
The spokesman added that as another measure, the Houthis are considering completely closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to any ships heading to Israeli ports.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, controlled by the Houthis, is a strategically important shipping lane between the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) and northeastern Africa (Djibouti and Eritrea). It is used by a significant portion of global maritime shipping, including oil and energy shipments between Europe and Asia.
[Ynet] Shomrim investigation: Mojtaba Khamenei's 2013 purchase of a luxury mansion and 12 homes on London's 'Billionaires's Row' was backed by a £36 million loan from an investment company owned by two British-Israeli brothers born in Ramat Gan.
Does this mean Israel knew about and had access to all the properties for the past thirteen years?
All three sources say the implausible-sounding allegation is viewed as credible by US spy agencies, rather than false information intended to undermine Khamenei, 56, who was selected to replace his dead father as supreme leader on March 8.
Two of the sources said the intelligence indicated that Mojtaba, who earned the nickname “the power behind the robes” while serving as his aging dad’s gatekeeper, has had a long-term sexual relationship with his childhood tutor.
Mojtaba, who is believed to have been wounded in the same Feb. 28 airstrike that killed his father and other members of his family, has made “aggressive” sexual overtures to men caring for him, possibly while under the influence of heavy medication, one of The Post’s sources said.
[IsraelTimes] Seven members of visiting women’s team sought asylum after state media called them ‘wartime traitors’ for failing to sing anthem during Asian Cup match; three remain in Australia
Three more members of the Iranian women’s soccer team have left their asylum in Australia and decided to return home, Canberra said Sunday. Got a hostage message from their "family" back home, did they?
Seven members of Iran’s visiting soccer delegation competing in the Women’s Asian Cup had sought sanctuary in Australia after they were branded "traitors" at home for refusing to sing the national anthem.
Only three of them will now remain in Australia, after another member of the group had second thoughts earlier in the week.
"Overnight, three members of the Iranian Women’s Football Team made the decision to join the rest of the team on their journey back to Iran," Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
"After telling Australian officials they had made this decision the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options," he said.
The Australian government gave team members the opportunity to seek refuge but players faced "incredibly difficult decisions," the minister said.
The sports drama has unfolded against the backdrop of war in the Middle East unleashed by US-Israeli air strikes on Iran.
Rights groups have repeatedly accused Iranian authorities of pressuring athletes abroad by threatening relatives or with the seizure of property if they defect or make statements against the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
"The Australian Government has done everything we could to make sure these women were provided with the chance for a safe future in Australia," Burke said. "Australians should be proud that it was in our country that these women experienced a nation presenting them with genuine choices and interacted with authorities seeking to help them."
Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said Saturday that three team members — two players and one member of the technical staff — had given up their asylum application and were currently heading to Malaysia.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has lauded the bravery of the women, vowing they would be welcomed with open arms.
But Iran’s governing soccer body has accused Australia of kidnapping the players and forcing them to forsake their home nation against their will.
Iranian players fell silent as the national anthem played ahead of a tournament match in Australia, an act seen as a symbol of defiance against the Islamic Theocratic RepublicA presenter on Iranian state TV branded the players "wartime traitors," fueling fears they could face persecution, or worse, if they returned home.
Although the side sang Iran’s anthem — an ode to the glory of the Islamic Theocratic Republic — in later matches, human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... activists warned the damage was done.
Five players, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, slipped away from the team hotel under the cover of darkness to claim asylum in Australia.
Two more team members — a player and a support staffer — claimed asylum before the team flew out of Sydney on Tuesday evening.
Posted by: chris ||
03/16/2026 5:00 Comments ||
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#3
Needs to be done once again. A standard Unconventional Warfare (UW) mission. Use Kharg Island as a Command & Communications, and logistics hub. Let vetted indigenous elements hunt the regime down and take care of business.
"The French Resistance (French: La Résistance [la ʁezistɑ̃s]) was a collection of groups that fought the Nazi occupation and the collaborationist Vichy regime in France during the Second World War." Wiki
[IsraelTimes] Opinion polls show far-right National Rally could take major cities in Sunday’s nationwide poll thanks to law-and-order messaging, striking chord with voters concerned about security
French voters headed to the polls on Sunday to elect their mayors in a closely watched vote seen as a test of the strength of the far right and the resilience of mainstream parties ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Voting started at 8 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m. and preliminary results will be released shortly after.
In many medium to large cities there will be a second round on March 22.
Mayors lead nearly 35,000 municipalities in the country, from major cities to villages with only a few dozen residents. Local results can shape national momentum, especially so close to a presidential election which opinion polls show the far-right National Rally (RN) could potentially win.
The anti-immigration, euroskeptic RN has so far struggled to make meaningful gains in municipal elections.
The party was co-founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died in 2025 and was known for making antisemitic remarks. His daughter, Marine Le Pen, who led the party after him, has moved emphatically to distance the movement from her father’s legacy, but accusations persist.
Despite the party’s history, the RN has sought to present itself as a bulwark against antisemitism, since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel led by Paleostinian terror group Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... With candidates in several hundred municipalities, it hopes to show growing popularity and clinch a few big wins that would further boost its presidential campaign.
The next presidential elections in La Belle France are scheduled for April 2027.
"If the people of Marseille make a brave choice... it will embolden and enlighten the French on the choice they will make next year," Franck Allisio, the RN candidate in La Belle France’s second-biggest city, told Rooters.
Allisio is tied in first-round polls with incumbent Socialist Mayor Benoit Payan, providing the RN with a once-unthinkable shot at power in a major French city.
The thousands of separate municipal ballots are often focused on very local issues.
But opinion polls show security is voters’ main priority, in line with the RN’s law-and-order focus.
Among the bigger cities the RN is targeting is the southern Toulon, with a population of 180,000. It could also win in Menton, a Riviera town where former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s son Louis is a candidate backed by centrist parties.
Security concerns motivated Madani Sadaoui, a 70-year-old pensioner, to vote for right-wing candidate Rachida Dati as mayor for Gay Paree. "The right is for security, and there is no security all over La Belle France," he said from a polling station in Gay Paree’ tenth district.
One key question is what alliances the RN will strike with other parties between the two rounds and whether this election will break decades of tradition of shunning the far-right.
The left did well across La Belle France in the last municipal elections in 2020. It is now weakened nationally. Whether it can keep Gay Paree, as well as some of the cities it won last time, such as Nantes for the Socialists or Lyon and Strasbourg for the Greens, will be closely watched.
Another key question is whether mainstream left-wing parties will strike alliances between the two rounds with the hard-left La Belle France Unbowed (LFI). Gay Pareeian resident Maxim Loh, 26, voted for Socialist candidate Emmanuel Gregoire and not LFI because he wanted to avoid a three-way race in the second round.
"I went for continuity, I cycle and there are a lot of green spaces introduced," he said.
A second round of voting will be held in all cities where no single list wins more than 50 percent of the vote.
"People want to turn the page and they want to turn it with us," Perpignan’s RN mayor Louis Aliot told Rooters.
[Real News] President Donald Trump said Wednesday that suspected Iranian sleeper cells may have entered the United States during former President Joe Biden’s administration due to what he called weak border enforcement policies.
Speaking with reporters, Trump said his administration is monitoring individuals who crossed into the country during the previous administration and may be connected to potential threats.
That’s comforting. If not stopped ahead of time, at least they’ll be caught quickly afterward, and as quickly convicted.
"We have eyes on a number of people," Trump said. "A lot of people came in through Biden with his stupid open border. But we know where most of them are. We’ve got our eye on all of them."
The comments came after Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked the president about a security alert sent to law enforcement agencies across the country.
According to reports, federal authorities warned that an encrypted message believed to have originated in Iran appeared shortly after the launch of Operation Epic Fury and may have been intended to activate sleeper cells already operating inside the United States and other countries.
#3
I'm concerned that Iranian terrorists will not be afforded due process by this evil administration. Judge Boasberg should issue a TRO immediately. Maybe he could declare them to be wards of the court.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/16/2026 9:47 Comments ||
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#4
Well, Trump hasn't gone full Roosevelt yet. If 'sleeper cells' get active, November will be interesting. You'll just know he'll maneuver the Donks into a position to defend them.
#5
The sleeper cells must have taken NyQuil. We’re already 2.76 Supreme Leaders into the conflict and Senegal has taken more action against us than Iran. Somalia looted 1/2 of our budget. The Mullahs are facing relegation to the Axis of the Curbstopped.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/16/2026 12:46 Comments ||
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#6
The sleeper cells must have taken NyQuil.
Be vewwy vewwy quiet! We're waiting for this to all blow over so we can go back to enjoying our rich American lives.
He’s a smart man, that Ted Cruz. A Supreme Court, someday, with him and JD Vance would be fascinating.
warned Wednesday that the threat of international terrorism targeting the United States is at its highest level in decades as the war with Iran continues to escalate.
Speaking with Fox News host Sean Hannity, the Texas Republican argued that years of weak border enforcement created an opportunity for terrorist operatives to enter the country.
"We had four years under Joe Biden of open borders," Cruz said. "We had 12 million people flood across the border, basically an open invitation to every terrorist, every Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps terrorist to come to America."
Cruz’s comments came after reports that federal authorities recently alerted California law enforcement to a potential Iranian threat involving drones launched from an offshore vessel.
According to the alert, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise unmanned aerial vehicle attack from a ship off the coast of the United States targeting locations in California if Washington launched strikes against Tehran.
#3
March To Date
Shot & Killed: 18
Shot & Wounded: 47
Total Shot: 65
Total Homicides: 20
Chicago Crime 2026
2026 Year to Date
Shot & Killed: 72
Shot & Wounded: 232
Total Shot: 304
Total Homicides: 78
One would think, "cooler heads prevale".
Late winter temps keeping more people indoors so there would be less opportunity for conflict.
Apparently not.
[IsraelTimes] SWAT teams, bomb squads and snipers among some 1,000 law enforcement personnel tasked to secure event; FBI reportedly warned Iran might hit unspecified targets in California.
#2
/\ Too true. However, it would be enormously entertaining to watch the reactions of the Oscars live audience to the presence of a few drones over their heads. Promoters; you are missing a bet to enlarge your world wide audience.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
03/16/2026 6:35 Comments ||
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#3
I was unaware the the Oscars had any AA capability or the means to beef it up. Did they hire the Korean gas station guys?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/16/2026 7:27 Comments ||
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#4
Iran isn't doing this, but if they did they'd be heroes for killing all these pedophiles and rapists at the same time.
AI generated movies can't come fast enough.
#11
It’s not clear from this how many postured this year. Once again, I didn’t watch the shallow, pretty people overact as they pretended to care about the cause du jour.
#12
My annoyance at the political commentary is compounded by the fact that, with an exception or two, the films celebrated are just crap. "One Battle After Another" was made by Hollywood for Hollywood.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/16/2026 10:57 Comments ||
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#13
Are the TV ratings out yet? Was anybody actually watching?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/16/2026 12:33 Comments ||
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#14
A quick google returned:
The 2026 Academy Awards had a viewership of 40.3 million people, marking a slight increase from the previous year and making it the most-watched Oscars telecast in three years. This year's ratings were boosted by the return of Conan O'Brien as host and a growing interest in the nominated films.
The question of whether most of them were hate-watching pundits gathering material for their podcasts doesn’t matter to the advertisers.
#16
We haven't been to movie since just before Covid.
We quit supporting the Anti-USA Holly-werid crowd just like we quit the watching the Multi-Millionaires in professional sports take knee.
My #6 comment bears that out that we did not even bother to check when the Awards were on.
[PJMedia] The United States Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on fake charities that funnel money to a genocidal Islamic terrorist group and on North Korea ...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche... n assets who engage in schemes to defraud American businesses and fund foreign weapons programs.
The new blurbs from the Treasury Department highlight another issue, which is that we have a terrifying number of terrorist and foreign enemy agents and assets right here in the United States or working for American companies. Partly this was fueled by the Biden administration’s open borders policies, which allowed an unknown number of murderous Moslems and foreign agents to enter our country, but this really is a crisis that has been ongoing for decades.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four sham charities that provide money directly to Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... ’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades. This seems a bit of an unnecessary distinction, since all of Hamas states its purpose of existence is genocide of Israelis, but the Treasury considers the danger higher when the funds are specifically earmarked for direct terrorist acts like the Oct. 7 massacre and ongoing attacks on Israeli soil.
Hamas, naturally, continues to engage in "deceitful practices" to use alleged civilian and charitable organizations as covers for generating yet more jihad-fueling money abroad. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, "Hamas continues to finance its military wing by exploiting sham charities to support terrorist operations. The Treasury Department will not allow Hamas to misuse the charitable sector for its violent mostly peaceful aims, and we will continue to target these networks wherever they operate."
Hamas is not the only America-hating entity to exploit Americans financially. On March 12, the Treasury Department announced:
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned six individuals and two entities for their roles in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) government-orchestrated information technology (IT) worker schemes that systematically defraud U.S. businesses and generate revenue to fund the DPRK’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, including nearly $800 million in 2024.
North Korean-tied IT teams use a variety of tools to accomplish their ends, including stolen identities, invented personas, and even fraudulent documents, all of which help them obtain jobs with U.S. companies and other companies around the world, the Treasury Department explained. The North Korean dictatorship then takes most of the workers' earnings, helping fund the DPRK ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs. Some of the DPRK-tied workers also introduce malware into the networks of the companies that hire them so that they can obtain sensitive information.
This also points to the problem of many American companies preferring to hire foreign workers because they can pay them less. As many young Americans still struggle to find employment, numerous ill-intentioned foreign assets take some of the jobs instead.
Bessent said, "The North Korean regime targets American companies through deceptive schemes carried out by its overseas IT operatives, who weaponize sensitive data and extort businesses for substantial payments. Under President Trump’s leadership, Treasury will continue to follow the money in order to protect U.S. businesses from these malicious activities and ensure those responsible are held accountable."
[France24] British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz both said on Monday that trying to re-open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping would not be a NATO mission, with Starmer instead calling for a broad alliance including Gulf partners, European countries and the US. Tehran declared the critical waterway closed to US and US-allied traffic due to the US-Israeli war on Iran. Follow our liveblog for all the latest updates.
SUMMARY
Israeli foreign minister says no plans for talks with Lebanese government
Iran foreign minister tells France countries must refrain from escalating conflict
Israel army says it has begun 'wide-scale' strikes on western Iran
Iran arrests 20 people accused of being informants to Israel, Tasnim news reports
Iran Guards vow to 'pursue and kill' Israeli premier Netanyahu
Trump says 'terms aren't good enough' to make a deal with Iran
Lebanon death toll since March 2 rises to 850
Five wounded in rocket attack on Baghdad airport, Iraqi authorities say
The latest update as of 9:51 a.m. EDT:
3 minutes ago 'Terrible feeling of déjà vu' as Israel launches ground incursion into Lebanon
Karim Emile Bitar, professor at Saint Joseph University of Beirut and at Sciences Po University in Paris, says he has a 'terrible feeling of déjà vu' as Israel launched what it calls a 'limited ground operation' in the south of Lebanon. Professor Bitar says that while Israel is likely to destroy its enemies in Lebanon, it is unlikely to bring stability to the region and its own northern border.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
03/16/2026 08:51 ||
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[1765 views]
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#3
A reminder why I should not and will not be President. I'd tell both countries where to go and if they had any flagged vessels, we wouldn't protect them.
Also do either England or France even have any ships able to deploy to the Gulf.
#4
We spent the last forty years _NOT_ building suitable modern frigates with actual sufficient guns on them because they weren't Super Destroyers and the NATO allies would be able to handle that part of the mission.
Now they're stuck in a world where we can just hand over the whole fucking Middle East and its ocean of oil to a Russian Proxy but we're still expected to keep Ukraine free. (Not to mention Venezuela, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vladimir Putin, Inc., and Xi Xinvestments LLC for the last 28 or so years).
#5
Anyway, they want to give Russia big swaths of the planet but fight them for Ukraine. The problem is, Russia's economy runs off of the bits of the planet they grabbed in a relatively uncontested fashion.
[IsraelTimes] Spurred by a deadly Hezbollah rocket and the fall of the Assad regime, northern Golan residents abandon historic ties to Syria and look to strengthen their Israeli identity
On Sunday, the first IDF soldier from the Druze town of Majdal Shams was killed in combat.
Sgt. First Class Maher Khatar, 38, of the Combat Engineering Corps, was killed alongside Staff Sgt. Or Demry near the Tzivoni outpost — one of five outposts the IDF set up in South Leb ...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade.... after the ceasefire agreement signed in November 2024. The two were struck by a mortar shell or a missile fired by Hezbollah as they went out in D9 bulldozers to rescue a stuck tank.
As a result, Majdal Shams, a town of about 12,000 residents, held its first military funeral. In this small town near the Syrian border and the slopes of Mount Hermon, IDF soldiers are still a rare sight, but it seems that this, too, is about to change.
Just over a week before Khatar was killed, and two days before the start of the second war with Iran, The Times of Israel visited Majdal Shams as part of a tour of the area, where Israel borders Syria and Lebanon.
The entire sector felt as if it were sitting on burning coals. Despite the ceasefire agreement, Israeli residents near the border said they felt unsafe and were longing for the moment the IDF would change its security paradigm and strike across the border.
The situation changed on Saturday, February 28, with the joint US-Israeli attack on senior Iranian regime figures. A few days later, Israel also responded to Hezbollah fire from Lebanon, resuming Israel’s campaign against the terror organization.
An obligatory stop in Majdal Shams is the soccer field in the heart of the town, where 12 young children were killed when a Hezbollah rocket hit the grounds on the morning of Saturday, July 24, 2024, while a youth game was taking place.
The tragedy left the town and the three other nearby Druze villages — Mas’ada, Ein Qiniyye, and Buq’ata — grieving and furious. A memorial is currently being built at the site of the rocket crater. Surrounding it are sports fields and a toddler’s playground, serving as a violent mostly peaceful and painful testament to the massacre site’s centrality in the daily life of Majdal Shams.
The tour of the Syrian border took place as part of a seminar organized by the Dvora Forum, an Israeli organization dedicated to women in national security and foreign policy, and was led by Lt. Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi, head of the Alma Research and Education Center, which studies Israel’s security challenges in the north.
A man involved in local civilian matters, who asked not to be identified, noted that local residents were astonished by the amount of support and solidarity they received from people across Israel following the Majdal Shams tragedy.
Despite the warm relationship between the Druze and the rest of the country’s residents, they were surprised by the embrace and attention, which did not fade even as time passed.
And the fact that Majdal Shams has now also suffered its first military fatality is a somber testament to the ongoing transformation within the four Druze villages in the northern Golan Heights.
For many years, the Golan Druze maintained family ties across the border, but the relationship with the former Syrian regime went beyond mere family connections.
Until about a decade ago, many young Druze crossed the border to spend several years studying at universities in Damascus, even though Syria is one of the four countries legally defined by Israel as an "enemy state." Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... ’s regime offered free tuition, unconditional admission, and a secular living environment.
For example, the mayor of Mas’ada, Salman Batahish, earned a dentistry degree from Damascus University in 2012. The mayor of Ein Qiniyye, Wael Mughrabi, an educator in the field of sports, also went to study dentistry in Damascus, but dropped out. Many of the engineers and doctors from the four villages are graduates of Damascus University.
The ties between the residents of the four Druze villages in the Golan Heights and Syria were not limited to studies. Agricultural goods, primarily apples, were transported across the nearby border for sale within Syria. Naturally, there were also family ties, including arranged marriages where young Druze women relocated from Israel to Syrian Druze villages to wed.
Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, these ties have steadily diminished. At the same time, the affinity of the Druze village residents toward an Israeli identity has continued to strengthen.
While Israel effectively annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 and offered full citizenship to its Druze residents, the vast majority historically rejected it, opting instead for permanent residency. This status allowed them to work and travel freely in Israel while maintaining their Syrian identity, largely out of loyalty or fear of regime retaliation against relatives across the border.
But this long-standing dynamic is shifting.
In 2017, then-Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announced the first-ever local elections for the Druze villages in the Golan Heights. While the right to run for office was restricted to those who had completed the naturalization process and held Israeli citizenship, voting rights were extended to all residents, including those who merely held residency status.
Up until that year, only about 20% of the roughly 26,000 residents of the villages had gone through the naturalization process. With the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the number of people seeking citizenship did rise, but only moderately — amounting to a few dozen additional applications per year.
During the recent tour in Majdal Shams, one of the village residents was asked about the naturalization trend, as distinct from the residency status held by most residents. He noted that, as far as he knew, the numbers were now surging in an unprecedented way.
In past election cycles, residents of the four Druze villages who held Israeli citizenship typically cast their ballots at the polling station in Neve Ativ, a neighboring Jewish Israeli moshav. The reason was clear: many feared a boycott and social ostracism within their own communities if it became known that they had exercised their citizenship right and voted in Israel’s national elections. Voting in a Jewish town allowed them to cast their ballots anonymously.
Until 2022, open identification with the Israeli government was still seen by many as a dangerous move, given the rule of the Assad regime in Syria.
In 2022, polling stations were set up within the four communities, yet the election results indicated that voter turnout remained low. In Majdal Shams, turnout among eligible voters stood at 23% (312 people); in Mas’ada, turnout was 22% (101 people); in Buq’ata, turnout was 25% (190 people); and in Ein Qiniyye, turnout among eligible voters stood at 15% (31 people).
In Majdal Shams, the preferred party was Yesh Atid (42%), followed by Likud (14%). Arab party Ra’am received two votes in the entire town, and another Arab party Hadash-Ta’al, received only one.
In Mas’ada, a local party led by Wajdi Taher won 40% of the vote, followed by Likud and Yisrael Beitenu, each with about 12%. In Buq’ata, Benny Gantz’s National Unity party led with 37% of the vote, and Yisrael Beitenu followed with 25%. In Ein Qiniyye, Yesh Atid again led (29%), followed by Likud and Meretz, each taking 22% of the vote.
The local residents now admit that the October 7 massacre shook them, just as it did the rest of the Israelis. This was followed by the massacre of the children in Majdal Shams, the subsequent fall of the Assad regime, and the massacre of their Druze relatives in al-Suwayda, the heartland of the Syrian Druze minority in southwestern Syria.
That final event in particular, which locals refer to as "the Druze October 7," deeply strengthened their connection to Israel.
"The new regime in Syria is ISIS. It is worse than Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... ," said our local host. "They come from the same place. The massacre on July 15, 2025, is our October 7. Our friends and relatives were raped and murdered. Druze from the Galilee and from here tried to cross the border and go in to help. In the end, it was the State of Israel that saved the Druze."
"On the other side too, they understand this and are raising Israeli flags there," he continued. "The Druze have tied their fate to the fate of the State of Israel, and everyone saw that Israel took a stand and chose a side. Since the massacre, Israel has been bringing in aid, food, and medical equipment."
He said that as a result of all these developments, there has been a massive jump in the number of Druze residents going through the naturalization process. But he also pointed out that none of the Druze villages have an Interior Ministry office, meaning that to complete the process, residents must travel to Katzrin, where they sometimes face a long wait.
The Interior Ministry provided The Times of Israel with exact figures: A total of 6,779 Druze residing in the Golan Heights applied for citizenship between 2020 and 2026 across all four villages.
In 2025, the significant surge in the data is abundantly clear: 3,750 people applied during that year, compared to about 500—600 people annually in the preceding years.
The year 2026 has only just begun, yet after only two months, nearly 1,000 people have already completed the naturalization process. In Majdal Shams, for example, about 38% of the village has already gone through naturalization. In the other three communities, roughly 37%—43% have completed the process.
Regarding the absence of Interior Ministry services in the four Druze communities, the ministry stated that opening a branch is a complex process conducted in coordination with the local municipality.
"If there will be an official request from the local authority, it will be examined by the Interior Ministry," a spokesperson told The Times of Israel. "Across Israel, there are 58 ministry branches spread across roughly 150 communities, which means there is not an Interior Ministry office in every community."
🚨 IDF Spokesperson: Iran’s missile program set back for years
Key points from the latest briefing:
Iran • Rebuilding ballistic missile production will take the regime a long time • The regime is weakened and increasingly unstable • Israel says it is ahead of operational…
🚨 IDF Spokesperson: Iran’s missile program set back for years
Key points from the latest briefing:
Iran
• Rebuilding ballistic missile production will take the regime a long time
• The regime is weakened and increasingly unstable
• Israel says it is ahead of operational goals
• Military objective is not regime change, but creating conditions for the Iranian people to act
Lebanon
• IDF reinforcing the northern front
• Additional brigades and divisions being deployed
Posted by: badanov ||
03/16/2026 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1766 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[Jpost] The award, which focuses on counter-drone operations, is one of the largest technology-focused contracts issued by the Army in recent years.
The US Army has awarded Anduril Industries a contract worth up to $20 billion to integrate advanced commercial technologies into a unified, AI‑driven operational system. The contract award came amid the ongoing war with Iran, known as Operation Roaring Lion, aka Epic Fury.
Under the agreement, Anduril will “consolidate current and future commercial solutions - including the proprietary, open-architecture, AI-enabled Lattice suite, integrated hardware, data, computer infrastructure, and technical support services - into a unified, mission-ready capability supporting the Army’s evolving operational and business needs.”
Lattice is an AI platform that uses computer vision, machine learning and mesh networking to fuse real-time data from disparate sources into a single, autonomous operating picture.
The open‑architecture suite is designed to fuse sensors, autonomous platforms, and command‑and‑control tools, enabling faster threat detection and more resilient battlefield networks.
The contract runs through March 2036, with work locations and funding determined per order. The Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is overseeing the program.
A separate news release from the Army-led Joint Interagency Task Force 401, which focuses on strengthening counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) tools, said that the contract with Anduril “directly addresses the critical interoperability challenge that has hampered joint and interagency counter-unmanned aircraft system operations.”
The contract will also streamline the Pentagon’s procurement of C-UAS tools as well as enhance interoperability between government agencies and partners. According to a report in Defense Industry Europe the Department of War previously managed over 120 separate procurement actions for Anduril’s solutions.
“The agreement signals a fundamental shift in the government's approach to acquiring critical software-defined capabilities. Rather than managing dozens of disparate contracts, this single enterprise vehicle allows for rapid procurement and deployment of counter-UAS technology where it is needed most, ensuring the US maintains a decisive advantage,” the statement read.
MODERNIZATION UNDER FIRE
The timing of the contract comes as the war with Iran continues to expand across multiple arenas. American, Israeli and Gulf forces have been intercepting Iranian-made drones and rockets across the Middle East on a daily basis since the war began in late February. Tehran has launched over 3,000 drones since the beginning of the war as well as over 500 ballistic missiles.
The attacks have highlighted the need for systems capable of identifying and responding to threats in seconds. AI-enabled platforms like Lattice are designed to operate in these sorts of environments, where traditional command structures can be too slow.
"This is a decisive move against a pervasive and growing threat; we are breaking down the hurdles that have limited our effectiveness in the [counter]-UAS fight," said Army Col. Tony Lindh, task force deputy director of acquisitions. "This agreement provides common air domain awareness through a proven [command and control] platform - Lattice - allowing us to build a cohesive, agile and formidable defensive ecosystem. For the first time, we have a clear path to true interoperability across the [War] Department and our interagency partners."
The Anduril award is one of the largest technology-focused contracts issued by the Army in recent years and reflects a broader shift toward partnering with emerging defense companies capable of rapid software updates and scalable architectures.
Anduril was founded by Palmer Luckey in 2017 and has since been awarded numerous contract awards by the Pentagon and around the world for their defense solutions. The company is currently in the process of raising up to $8 billion at a valuation of an estimated $60 billion.
Luckey, a vocal supporter of Israel, visited in early February and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) and defense companies and startups.
Text taken from the Telegram channel of darpaandcia
[ColonelCassad] The former CEO of Google is building a "drone wall." Previously, to control territory, you had to be there—with people, equipment, and trenches. Now, it's enough to hang a swarm over it.
The 15-kilometer strip along the line of contact, known on the front as the "gray zone"—a place where FPV drones hunt everything moving, where soldiers crawl for days under camouflage cloaks, and the wounded are carried out by ground robots—is no longer an anomaly. It's a new model for spatial control. And a specific person is behind its scaling. Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, with a net worth of approximately $55 billion, is building what he calls a "drone wall" through a network of companies (Swift Beat, Perennial Autonomy, and the Estonian-based Volya Robotics, where he is the sole beneficiary).
The architecture: the top layer consists of reconnaissance UAVs continuously scanning the territory; the bottom layer consists of strike drones awaiting command. Any movement is recorded and destroyed. Territory doesn't need to be occupied—it's enough to make it impossible to stay there.
Schmidt has already deployed three types of combat drones in Ukraine. The AI-guided "Bumblebee" strike drone (which, according to their statistics, hits its target 70% of the time) operates autonomously, without GPS.
The Merops interceptor, according to their claims, had shot down more than 1,900 of our drones by November 2025, including the Geranium. In March 2026, the Americans deployed it to the Middle East to protect their bases.
Schmidt's philosophy: cheap hardware, expensive software. A drone is a consumable for the price of a smartphone, its value lies in the algorithms that learn with every combat sortie. Ukraine is the ideal testing ground for him: real combat data that can't be obtained in exercises, and then the sale of proven systems to the Pentagon and allies. But it's not just Schmidt.
Drone production is growing at a tremendous rate. Ukraine has increased production from 5,000 drones in 2022 to 3-4 million in 2025. Their target for 2026 is seven million. All production is decentralized, with over 300 sites.
In the US, a giant Anduril factory in Ohio is launching, producing tens of thousands of autonomous systems per year, while the military's SkyFoundry program is producing 10,000 drones per month.
Croatia's Orqa has announced a million FPV drones per year, and a factory capable of producing 2,000 drones per day is under construction in the Baltics. The five largest EU military budgets have launched a joint program. Germany has invested $12 billion in this.
Production is doubling and tripling every year, and the acceleration shows no sign of slowing. By the end of 2027, combined Western production will exceed ten million combat drones per year. This is not a forecast, but the combined capacity of factories already under construction. "Gray zone" is no longer a frontline term. Schmidt described a "drone wall" as a concept for the future, but it's already starting to come true.
[IsraelTimes] US president reportedly unmoved by briefing as he believes Mojtaba may be dead already, leaving Iran leaderless again; Kuwaiti outlet claims he was smuggled out of Iran to Russia
US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... was briefed recently on American intelligence showing that Iran’s late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> , was wary about his son Mojtaba Khamenei replacing him as ruler in the event of his death, according to a Sunday report.
Sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that the elder Khamenei’s fears stemmed from the perception that Mojtaba, who was recently named as his father’s successor, was "not very bright, and was viewed as unqualified to be leader," as well as from an awareness that Mojtaba had "issues in his personal life."
The report came as the newly elected 56-year-old supreme leader has remained conspicuously absent from the public eye in the week since he was elected, fueling rumors of injury or death, or that he has fled Iran.
The only public comments attributed to him since he was elected on March 8 were delivered in the form of a statement read out by a television presenter on Thursday.
The sources cited by CBS were said to include people within the Trump administration, the US intelligence community, and figures close to the president. The outlet said both Trump and Vice President JD Vance had been briefed on the intelligence information.
In a possible reference to the intelligence he was allegedly briefed on, Trump told Fox News in an interview on Friday night that Khamenei was "not somebody that the father even wanted."
According to CBS, Trump has told people close to him that he is not putting too much weight on the intelligence briefing, as he already considered Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... to be "essentially leaderless," and believes Mojtaba, like his father, may already be dead.
Other US officials have voiced similar opinions, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who on Friday said Khamenei was "maimed and likely disfigured."
On Friday, the US announced that it was offering a reward of up to $10 million for information about Khamenei, as well as several other senior Iranian military and intelligence officials.
Iran has fiercely denied No, no! Certainly not! any suggestion that all may not be well with the new supreme leader, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi telling the pan-Arab al-Araby al-Jadeed news outlet on Sunday that he "is in excellent health" and "in control of the situation, and present at his post."
"The timing of televised messages or direct appearances before the people is his prerogative," he said.
Araghchi made similar remarks a day earlier, insisting that there was "no problem" with Khamenei, and that he "will perform his duties."
These assurances have not convinced everyone.
On Sunday, citing "a senior source close to the new Iranian leader," Kuwait’s al-Jarida news outlet reported that Khamenei had been smuggled out of Iran in a secretive Russian operation on Thursday to receive medical treatment in Moscow for injuries sustained in the same Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s that killed his father and wife on the first day of the ongoing US-Israeli offensive.
The report alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... had proposed bringing Khamenei to Russia for treatment to ensure that he would be able to recover properly, without being targeted by Israeli and American airstrikes.
He was accompanied to Russia by a team of Iranian doctors, the report said.
The newspaper further cited a source close to Khamenei as saying that not only did the new supreme leader not write the statement that was delivered by a television presenter last week, but that he did not even see it before it was read out.
The source suggested that it may have been written by Iran’s national security chief, Ali Larijani, as it was nearly identical to several statements he has put out in recent days.
#2
They folded him flat and slipped him out in an envelope?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/16/2026 6:58 Comments ||
Top||
#3
His most memorable quote will remain, “Ouch. Why is that leg over there wearing my same shoe style?”
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/16/2026 13:02 Comments ||
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#4
Depending how much is left, they could keep his head alive in a jar like with Nixon on The Simpsons, or they could train a Large Language Model on his speeches and a bunch of other Islamic nonsense. He would then become the first AI-atollah. Aloha Snackbar!
#5
there are a lot of Mojtaba was gay rumors around now
Irans is sort of like Trans
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/16/2026 16:53 Comments ||
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#6
Well, it seems it was pretty obvious Yasser Arafat was a young-boy-assaulter. Nobody wanted to say anything, but he "roared like a lion". Nobody wanted to get in the Dread Red Binder™
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/16/2026 18:02 Comments ||
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#7
C’mon now — in that part of the world homosexuality is defined by liking being on the receiving end. The other pleasure is just normal manly fun with the nearest orifice, whether female, pretty boy, goat, race horse, or knotty pine.
[KoreaTimes] U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that his planned trip to China might be delayed, redoubling his call for Beijing to help keep the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route, open amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, according to a report.
Trump made the remarks in an eight-minute call with the Financial Times, a day after he urged Korea, China, France, Japan, Britain and others — which are affected by the "artificial constraint" on the waterway — to send ships to secure the strait, which is responsible for about a fifth of the world's oil supplies.
"I think China should help too because China gets 90 percent of its oil from the Straits," he was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
Trump went on to say that waiting until the summit would be "too late." He has reportedly planned to visit China from late this month to early April for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"We'd like to know before that. It's (two weeks is) a long time," he said.
He added, "We may delay."
Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, escalating concerns about the impact on oil prices, a crucial economic issue that affects voter sentiment ahead of the midterm elections in the United States, where control of Congress is at stake.
During the call, Trump also warned that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) faces a "very bad" future if U.S. allies fail to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
"It's only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there," Trump said.
"If there's no response or if it's a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO."
During a press availability aboard Air Force One, Trump said that he has requested that about seven countries join a coalition to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Associated Press.
"I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory," Trump said.
He did not elaborate on the seven countries.
Following Trump's social media post calling for Korea and other countries to send ships to the strait, Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae struck a cautious tone, saying that it "took notice of" the post, and that Seoul and Washington will closely communicate over the matter.
Also on Air Force One, Trump said that the U.S. is in talks with Iran, according to Reuters.
#2
How about Trump making a secret proposal to the PRC? Tell them to help unblock the Strait ASAP or the USA will simply obliterate all oil export facilities on Kharg Island to such an extent it would take 5-10 years to replace. Iran would run out of income very rapidly in that case. China would be in a world of hurt. No worrying about tankers going into the Persian Gulf without a way to load petroleum. The wells would be left untouched. No need to send in troops. Most likely the export facilities are on surface and not a half mile underground. This thread might also motivate our "allies" to pitch in.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Kirill Semenov
[REGNUM] By March 15, 2026, the war between the US-Israel coalition and the Islamic Republic of Iran was no longer a regional conflict – it had hit the pockets of consumers around the world in full force. And so they should, after benefitting from lower oil prices because Iran was selling discounted oil, and both oil and money are fungible.
Economists at the UN and the International Energy Agency are sounding the alarm: the world is facing the largest disruption in crude oil supplies since the oil market began in 1973. The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted supplies of nearly 15% of the world's oil, halting half of production and refining in the key Persian Gulf region.
America will be fine — we can just pump more. And we can sell more to our friends, too. Then there’s Venezuela. You’re welcome.
OIL SHOCK AND THE THREAT OF GLOBAL COLLAPSE
By the end of the second week of the war, oil prices had consolidated above $103 per barrel—an increase of more than 40% since February 28 and the highest closing level in four years. Gasoline prices in the US rose 20% in the first 11 days of the conflict, comparable to the 2022 crisis.
Jet fuel prices have skyrocketed two and a half times in Europe and three times in Singapore. Economy class flights from Sydney to London have nearly doubled, and from Singapore to London, they've tripled.
But the main blow is yet to come. The UN is warning of a food crisis: a third of the world's fertilizer supplies were shipped through conflict zones, and the poorest countries—Sudan, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Pakistan—are under attack.
Washington's temporary easing of sanctions against Russian oil has freed up around 100 million barrels—but that's only 0.6% of global exports, and it's only likely to calm the market for a few days.
The only real way to stop the price storm is to end the fighting. But by mid-March, the prospects for peace look bleaker than ever. This is the price for the mistakes made by the United States, which was drawn into this war by Israel.
Although the original plan for the campaign was conceived as something completely different, “lightning-fast and decapitating,” which would have been followed by a rapid collapse of Iran’s current system of power.
THE BIRTH OF A TOUGHER IRAN
The death of 86-year-old Ali Khamenei on the very first day of the conflict was widely believed to be the beginning of the end for the Islamic Republic. The system, which had been sustained for decades by the authority of one man, was expected to collapse under the weight of internal contradictions as soon as the Rahbar left the scene.
However, two weeks later, the reality turned out to be completely different for both Washington and Tel Aviv.
And now the White House is frantically trying to find a new solution, whether military or peaceful. Tel Aviv Jerusalem, meanwhile, intends to fully utilize American power to weaken Iran, otherwise, another chance may never present itself.
Sure it will. People said the same thing after the Twelve Day War, and yet here we are.
However, this war could ultimately have unpredictable consequences for Netanyahu, too, as Iran intends to play the long game, and Washington is already concerned about finding a scapegoat if the quagmire of confrontation drags the United States deeper. And that scapegoat won't be Donald Trump.
The Russian said “quagmire” after two weeks — who is going to explain it to him?
Contrary to Washington's expectations, Iran's state institutions did not collapse, and Tehran opted for an asymmetrical strategy of attrition. The wartime transfer of power in the Islamic Republic demonstrated the resilience of its political system, which maintains cohesion even under extreme pressure.
Ali Khamenei's death was undoubtedly a devastating blow, but the succession mechanism was activated in an emergency. According to the Iranian constitution, powers were quickly transferred to a three-member interim leadership council: President Masoud Pezeshkian, head of the judiciary Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and cleric Alireza Arafi, appointed by the Guardian Council.
A key event was the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the deceased Rahbar, as the new Supreme Leader. Initial reports of his death were later denied, although reports of his injury were confirmed.
This step strengthened the continuity and dispelled any illusions Iran's enemies had about an impending power struggle. Power centers across the Islamic Republic—political factions, security institutions, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and religious authorities—quickly pledged allegiance to him. In the face of war, the elites chose consolidation and unity over ambition.
The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, who, unlike his father, did not have the formal religious status of Grand Ayatollah, but had extensive experience in coordinating security forces (in particular, suppressing rebellions by coordinating the work of the Basij structures), signals an important transformation: power is finally shifting towards “securitization.”
As experts note, even before Khamenei's death, a shift in the center of real power toward the IRGC was evident. The new leader is a protégé of this very "hawkish" wing of the security forces, which only promises a tougher line.
Despite severe blows to military, oil, and government infrastructure, fuel shortages, rising prices, and logistical disruptions, the state remained governable. The authorities activated pre-developed military contingency plans.
External pressure, as often happens in history, acted as a catalyst for national mobilization. Patriotism and institutional loyalty consolidate support for the state, even among many Iranians critical of the government but uniting in the face of external aggression. The long-term prospects of this trend should be of even greater concern in the West.
Constant military pressure and economic decline could push the Islamic Republic toward further securitization, strengthening its religious foundations, increasing its reliance on the IRGC, and tightening its political system. The death of Ali Khamenei proved not to be a harbinger of collapse, but a transition to the next, more severe stage.
ARITHMETIC OF RESOURCES
After two weeks of conflict, the current phase is increasingly being described as a war of attrition, where the focus is less on operational successes than on ammunition reserves and the ability of the parties to maintain the current pace of combat.
According to the Financial Times, even before the strikes began, Israeli intelligence assumed that the US was capable of conducting an intensive air campaign against Iran for no more than four to five days, or about a week at reduced intensity – even taking into account the arrival of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford.
Whoever said that clearly didn’t know what they were talking about or, possibly, it was a deliberate lie to fool the Mullahs into thinking they only had to survive for a few days. It’s clear that Bibi and The Donald have repeatedly worked very carefully to shape false expectations to make each coming blow even more devastating.
These assessments formed the basis of a pessimistic scenario, and by mid-March this forecast had already been formally left behind: the coalition continues to strike two weeks after the start of the campaign.
Indeed. First military targets, then governing and manufacturing targets, and now soldiers and Basij are walking away from their posts, while missile launchers and missile factories are toast. Iranian salvos are down by 90%, while the pace of Israeli and American manufacturing has increased. The quagmire is not trapping Israel and America…
The White House projected a fundamentally different picture—one of virtually inexhaustible reserves. Trump publicly stated that the stockpiles in American ammunition depots were at an unprecedented level and could sustain military operations for as long as desired, while the Iran plan was initially designed for at least four to five weeks, with the possibility of extension.
However, according to leaks from the Pentagon, the military's assessments were much more conservative: they were talking about operational reserves for one to two weeks of active operations, after which the question of transferring arsenals from other regions would inevitably arise.
What if those leaks were deliberate?
If we take Trump's political timeframe as a starting point—four to five weeks, or 28–35 days—and compare it with the actual duration of military operations by March 15 (around 15 days), it formally turns out that, according to the upper limit of the political plan, the US can count on approximately another 14–20 days of campaigning in the originally conceived format.
However, this horizon is more of a declarative nature and has not been technically confirmed: military experts agree that the bottleneck is precisely the high-tech air defense systems and interceptor missiles, and not the mass-produced ammunition for strike aircraft.
A comparison of these data suggests that, if the current intensity of military operations continues, US stockpiles could last another 7-10 days. This timeframe is derived from a combination of initial estimates: Israeli intelligence forecasts (4-5 days of intensive strikes) have long since passed, Pentagon leaks estimated the operational reserve at 1-2 weeks, and Trump's policy framework of 4-5 weeks presupposes the activation of global reserves, which has already begun but will take time.
There are also numerous indications that the US has already been forced to reduce the intensity of attacks to conserve resources. Therefore, the next week and a half will be a critical point.
Once this resource is exhausted, Washington will face a stark dilemma: either exit the conflict with minimal political costs, or move on to a new round of escalation—to an even higher and riskier level of intensity, which will require the use of strategic arsenals, a transition to a ground phase, and could lead to unpredictable consequences.
Forecasts for Israel are tightly tied to US support. Several experts in the English-language press point out that Israel is theoretically capable of waging a high-intensity war against Iran for four to eight weeks before the need to replenish its precision-guided munitions becomes urgent.
If we count from February 28, then by March 15, under an optimistic scenario, Israel is only at the beginning of this corridor and can continue the campaign until the end of April without critical depletion of its arsenals.
But if we take the lower limit of 4 weeks as a basis, then we get roughly the same timeframe as the US – about two more weeks of attacks, after which a pause should inevitably follow.
However, as experts emphasize, Israel is waging war on more than one front: operations in the Gaza Strip continue, and most importantly, a war is flaring up in the north with the participation of Hezbollah.
I realize I’m not qualified to judge, but that looks more like a forlorn hope to me.
Since the start of the operation against Iran, Israel has already used thousands of munitions—volumes comparable to previous campaigns, but now their consumption is superimposed on ongoing conflicts.
Under these conditions, Israel's autonomous resource of 4-8 weeks is only feasible in practice if the US continues to provide a strategic umbrella (air defense, reconnaissance, refueling, logistics) and help with replenishing the most scarce types of missiles and aerial bombs.
EASTERN BASES AND THE "30 MISSILES A DAY" TACTIC
If in the first week of the war analysts predicted the rapid depletion of Iran's missile potential, now the picture has become more complex.
Yes, the intensity of the strikes did decrease—from 350 missiles on the first day to approximately 30 launches per day by the middle of the first week of the conflict. However, this decline was not a collapse, but rather a plateau, which Iran continues to maintain, rationing its missile consumption to approximately 30 launches per day.
Moreover, on March 13, Iran launched its most powerful attack in recent days, using the same 30 missiles, but a super-heavy version with a warhead weighing over one ton. IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi stated that this operation "disrupted and destroyed important Israeli air surveillance systems," and now another swath of the sky is under Tehran's control.
We are talking about the latest solid-fuel Heybarshakan missiles, which Iran, apparently, was saving for decisive strikes.
The key factor allowing Iran to play the long game is maintaining its military capabilities at its eastern bases, far from the main coalition strikes. Experts note that Tehran has adopted a strategy of "asymmetric endurance," relying on dispersed underground missile bases and inexpensive drone swarms capable of wearing down allied air defense systems for months.
We're talking about so-called "missile cities"—massive networks of tunnels 30 to 80 meters underground, stretching for tens of kilometers, where ballistic missiles are stored and prepared for launch. According to authorities, such bases exist in all 31 provinces of the country.
Iran has changed its tactics: instead of massive salvos, it now launches smaller numbers of missiles with greater destructive power. The goal is to exhaust the enemy's air defenses.
Is it working? Because what I’m seeing is Israelis having parties and worship services and weddings in the bomb shelters, while overhead the defenses are defending.
Less valuable liquid-fueled missiles are launched first, which attract and reduce the number of expensive interceptor missiles (THAAD, Patriot, and Arrow), the restoration of whose arsenals takes months.
Given the US's manufacturing capabilities, the Americans would run out of missiles and interceptors sooner than Iran would run out of hypersonic ballistic missiles. This would give Tehran the potential to inflict significant damage in the final stages of a military conflict.
Meanwhile, US Central Command has already requested additional intelligence officers from the Pentagon to support operations against Iran for at least 100 days—possibly even until September. This rush underscores that Trump's team failed to foresee the war's far-reaching consequences.
After two weeks of operations, the US and Israel still maintain military superiority, but logistical and economic constraints are becoming increasingly apparent. If Iran manages to endure the coming weeks without exhausting its missile potential and maintaining control, the initiative could begin to shift.
THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY SLAMMED SHUT
Amid mounting logistical challenges, the diplomatic dimension of the conflict is becoming increasingly apparent. In recent days, Donald Trump has been actively seeking an exit from the protracted war.
However, if Trump had hoped to find a path to negotiations, those hopes were met with harsh reality. Iran, having weathered the shock of the first few days and consolidated around its new leadership, has radically changed the tone of its rhetoric.
On March 10, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in an interview with PBS, effectively closed the door to any diplomatic contact with Washington.
"I don't think the issue of further contacts or negotiations with the Americans will be under consideration, because we have had a very bitter experience communicating with the Americans," the head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated, making it clear that the previous format of interaction has been exhausted once and for all.
Moreover, according to diplomatic sources, Iran is not only refusing to negotiate, but is also putting forward preconditions that are clearly unacceptable to Washington.
We are talking about the demands voiced by Abbas Araghchi: the withdrawal of all American military bases from Iraq and the Persian Gulf region, as well as compensation for damage to Iranian infrastructure as a result of the bombings.
An amusing thought altogether…
Tehran understands that any pause in hostilities will be used by the US and Israel to regroup and replenish ammunition supplies, rather than to seek a sustainable peace.
A hudna. Of course. Iran has been waging the war for 47 years, after all.
The Iranian calculation is that time is against the coalition: the longer the war lasts, the greater the economic burden on American taxpayers and the greater the costs borne by Washington's allies in the region.
That’s certainly one calculation.
Therefore, the Iranian leadership, having learned from the bitter experience of past agreements that, in its view, were violated by the United States, no longer believes in written guarantees and relies solely on strength and endurance.
That’s ok. We are not suckers like President Barack Obama's team
THE STRATEGIC PATIENCE OF MONARCHS
In these circumstances, the position of the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf, which find themselves at the epicenter of the storm, plays a special role.
Since the first days of the war, Iran has been striking civilian targets and infrastructure in all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait. However, the Gulf monarchies, which possess powerful militaries and modern air defense systems, have focused on defense and damage control rather than retaliation.
The official position, recorded at an emergency meeting of the GCC Council of Ministers on March 1, condemns the Iranian attacks and reaffirms the right to self-defense, but leaves this right hypothetical.
Moreover, in a joint communiqué with the European Union, the Gulf countries explicitly stated that they would not allow their territory to be used for attacks on Iran, while the Omani representative directly accused the US and Israel of thwarting successful diplomatic efforts and of "immoral" actions to start a war.
The GCC countries want a swift end to the war with minimal destruction and a return to the status quo. Israel, on the other hand, is interested in a protracted conflict, chaos, and the fundamental weakening of Iran, even at the cost of destabilizing the region.
For the Gulf monarchies, a "simmering conflict" is catastrophic: their diversified economies, oriented toward tourism and investment, will collapse. For Israel, which shares no border with Iran, this scenario is optimal and strategic, allowing it to regularly "mow the grass" deep within its adversary's territory.
The irony is that in 2003, the Gulf states opposed the invasion of Iraq, fearing that Iran would exploit the chaos. Now they fear that Israel will exploit the chaos in Iran.
The main paradox for Gulf elites is that the overthrow of the Islamic Republic will not bring peace. It will remove the last major constraint on Israel's own revisionist policies. As a result, the Arab monarchies will find themselves squeezed between three unstable states (Yemen, Iraq, and a shattered Iran) and a strengthened Israel striving for regional hegemony.
That's why their strategy is to wait and defend, rather than attack. The example of Oman is particularly illustrative in this context. The Sultanate, which has no permanent foreign military bases on its territory, demonstrates a different security model.
Oman has traditionally remained outside the military confrontation with Iran, maintaining strong diplomatic and economic ties and successfully playing the role of a regional mediator.
Remarkably, even three drone attacks on its territory (their origin remains unconfirmed) were described as "accidental" and did not lead to escalation or the country's involvement in the conflict. This incident confirms that the absence of foreign bases reduces the risk of being drawn into foreign wars, while their presence, on the contrary, creates risks.
And this approach is now being openly discussed in the region. For example, Qatari intellectual Abdullah Alamadi directly points out that the current circumstances provide the Council with a unique opportunity to reconsider its military presence with Western powers.
Particular attention should be paid to the fact that the current domestic political situation in the United States demonstrates a steady trend toward a policy of self-isolation and curtailment of its global presence.
This tectonic shift should prompt Gulf states to invest in working with influential groups within the United States that advocate for the withdrawal of American troops from abroad. A logical outcome of such efforts should be the inclusion of the Gulf region among the territories these forces are demanding be freed from foreign military presence.
The current situation could present a unique, unrepeatable opportunity for the Cooperation Council countries. This is an opportunity not only to shed the burden of foreign bases but also to begin fully developing their own independent regional military system, capable of adequately responding to real challenges and threats.
Oman's experience over the past decades shows that abandoning the deployment of permanent foreign contingents is not only possible, but also allows for a more flexible and secure foreign policy.
"We are being deliberately pushed into an absurd and bloody war with Iran," Alamadi concludes, expressing the sentiments of a significant portion of the intellectual elite. "Most thinkers and intellectuals in the region agree that today our common task—both governments and peoples—is to leave the Americans and Israelis no room to maneuver."
We must avoid being drawn into this conflict at all costs. By entering into a senseless war with Iran, we would essentially be throwing Trump a lifeline. He is currently caught in a complex political trap, driven into it by Benjamin Netanyahu. Once we find ourselves in the epicenter of hostilities, both Trump and Netanyahu will have the opportunity to escape unscathed, citing our involvement as a cover."
At the same time, Iran also has a significant trump card, which helps prevent Saudi Arabia and the UAE from becoming involved in the conflict and deters them from taking rash steps. If Riyadh or the UAE directly joins military attacks on Iran, this will automatically activate the Yemeni front.
The Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement, which has demonstrated its ability to inflict painful blows deep into Saudi territory over the years of conflict, would in this case immediately enter the war on Iran's side.
For Riyadh, which has been unsuccessfully trying to emerge from Yemen's protracted conflict, the prospect of its resumption with renewed vigor is one of the most frightening scenarios.
STRAIT OF HORMUZ: FROM BLOCKADE TO BATTLE FOR THE ISLANDS?
The main question facing military experts today is what reaction to expect from Donald Trump going forward. Failure to reach a face-saving peace agreement with Iran could prompt the White House to reconsider the campaign format, including launching a ground operation.
The trigger for its implementation could be the need for Washington to “respond” to the actual closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait's blockade has become the main paradox of this conflict. The more active measures are taken to neutralize the blockade's consequences, the more the operation transforms from a limited military strike into a large-scale, long-term campaign.
Against this backdrop, Trump's rhetoric appears contradictory. On the one hand, he claims complete military victory over Iran. On the other, on March 14, he wrote on the social media platform TruthSocial that it was up to other countries that receive oil through this route to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, and that the US would merely coordinate these efforts.
This framing of the issue—"let others unblock"—seems like an attempt to distance oneself from the escalation, but it contradicts the logic of the Pentagon's already begun redeployment of forces, and is more likely aimed at trying to draw at least the UAE into this war.
Data from the field and the nature of the American force deployment strongly suggest a scenario for a large-scale amphibious operation. The Pentagon has already decided to deploy up to 5,000 soldiers and marines from the 31st Expeditionary Force from Japan to the shores of Iran. This is an amphibious assault force designed for large-scale landings.
The journey to the Middle East takes up to two weeks, and this timeframe brings us to the end of March – a possible window for decisive action, after a reboot of the military campaign will be required if it cannot be stopped after the exhaustion of the resources concentrated in the Middle East.
The keys to the Strait of Hormuz are the islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb, which Iran has held since 1971, and their legal status has always been a subject of dispute with the UAE.
Today, these islands have become "unsinkable aircraft carriers": Abu Musa houses missile batteries, drone runways, and bases for high-speed mine-laying boats, which block the strait. It is from these islands that the IRGC controls the narrow shipping lanes, squeezing them like pincers.
If the US, with the support of the UAE, decides to establish control over these islands, the strategic goal of the operation will be revealed in a completely different way: it will no longer be “punishing Iran for its nuclear program,” but an attempt to permanently wrest from Tehran the instrument of pressure on world prices.
But these three islands are not enough to completely control the strait. The Iranian islands are located in the immediate vicinity, allowing for complete closure of all shipping lanes and raids on the Iranian coast.
First and foremost, there's the large island of Qeshm, which is the key to the strait; there's Larak Island, which could be turned into a veritable fortress with electronic countermeasure systems and anti-ship missile launchers; there's Hormuz Island, which provides control over the strait's narrowest point; and there's Hengam Island, located south of Qeshm—all of these form Iran's unified defensive line.
Qeshm, the largest island in the strait, deserves special attention. The US strike on a desalination plant there on March 8, which left 30 villages without water, appears to be a deliberate, rather than a coincidence.
Qeshm isn't just a territory; it's a beachhead. If American forces can establish a foothold there, they'll be able to control not only shipping but also overlook the entire Iranian coastline.
The scenario could unfold as follows. The first stage is the capture of the islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb. This would allow for control of the northern channel and the deprivation of Iran of its forward bases.
The second stage is a landing on Larak Island to destroy missile systems and electronic warfare systems threatening the ships.
The third stage is the capture of Qeshm Island and the creation of a full-fledged military base on it.
And the fourth, most risky stage is an attempt to land from the islands on the Iranian coast, creating bridgeheads to consolidate complete control over the strait.
By capturing the islands and securing control of the strait, the United States will be able to guarantee the passage of all ships, turning Hormuz into an area of exclusive US responsibility. Essentially, this amounts to creating an American equivalent of Britain's Gibraltar—the rock that has controlled the entrance to the Mediterranean for three centuries.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already outlined a condition for the commencement of ship escorts: complete control of the skies. But control of the skies is impossible without control of the land from which missile threats originate. Therefore, the logic of the US military machine will push the command to expand the operation.
This scenario explains why the US continues to expand its presence despite the obvious economic losses from the blockade. The White House is willing to pay a high price now to gain a strategic foothold for decades to come.
Iran understands this perfectly well. Therefore, Tehran's rhetoric that any attack on the islands will result in the deaths of American soldiers is not a threat, but a statement of inevitability. The battle for the islands will become a battle for the survival of the current regime in Iran, if, of course, Washington agrees to such a risky step.
REGIONAL RIFT: HEZBOLLAH AND KURDISH HESITATION
While the main events unfold around Iran, equally important trends are taking shape on the periphery of the conflict. Israel's northern front, which officials claimed should have been cleared of the Hezbollah threat months ago, continues to rage, and Lebanese missile launches into Israel are complementing Iranian ones.
It turns out that Hezbollah not only survived last year's attacks (including the death of its leadership and the episode with exploding pagers), but also retained its full capabilities.
Contrary to Israeli claims, the elite Radwan unit suffered no significant losses—the last time, the fighters merely carried out a tactical retreat. They are currently operating in small groups, striking Israeli units and northern settlements with anti-tank missiles, rocket systems, and mortars.
Their level of training is estimated to have improved even further. These groups conserve ammunition and fire accurately, taking advantage of Israel's lack of an effective tactical response to low-flying, high-speed anti-tank missiles with a range of eight kilometers. In just one day, Radwan units carried out 29 coordinated attacks—more than ever before.
Hezbollah currently maintains approximately 20,000 missiles and shells in its arsenal, as well as approximately 2,000 drones, the losses of which have been partially replenished with the help of Iran.
Command centers in the Dahieh area remain operational, and key leadership and operational structures remain functional. To evade Israeli signals intelligence, fighters abandoned digital communications, switching to a liaison system and analog methods, dramatically reducing their electronic footprint.
Moreover, Hezbollah is now synchronizing its rocket attacks with Iran's strikes, with the level of coordination between them higher than ever before.
On March 13, the movement's leader, Naim Qassem, officially declared his readiness for a "protracted confrontation." In a sense, the organization has become even stronger: it has adapted to the new Israeli military doctrine, and its defeat would require a large-scale and protracted ground operation. Throughout this time, northern Israel will remain under attack.
It's unlikely that Israeli intelligence was truly unaware of the true state of affairs. The world was confronted with the work of Netanyahu's disinformation networks, which vigorously promoted the narrative of Hezbollah's "victory" and "degradation," and the media eagerly embraced it.
In fact, the "decapitation" and "weakening" of the organization did not represent a strategic defeat for it - its network remained virtually intact, and its elite tactical units remained almost unharmed.
On the other side of the struggle—the Kurds—the situation was different. The US attempted to create a "second front" by exploiting Iran's Kurdish minority. In telephone conversations, Donald Trump offered Kurdish leaders "extensive air cover" and support in their quest to seize western Iran, urging them to decide on a side in the conflict. However, according to recent reports, Iraqi Kurdish parties have refused to send their forces to Iran.
Several journalists went to the border areas to document the moment of their transition to Iranian Kurdistan, but have already left the areas and returned home.
They had previously been told that the parties were preparing and were on high alert for an invasion "in a matter of days," but now the groups have retreated and decided not to deploy their fighters.
The political alliance of Kurdish parties, consisting of six groups (including the PJAK/PKK), was unable to reach a consensus on this issue. As a result, it did not approve the deployment of fighters to Iranian Kurdistan, and some film crews left the border area.
The alliance's decision to refrain from invading is driven by a combination of factors: Iran's continued military strength, its distrust of the United States and its willingness to see this war through to the end, its own relative weakness, and the fact that the Iranian army and IRGC maintain their positions in these areas despite the massive air campaign that has been deliberately waged against them over the past week.
This was made possible because the IRGC and the army abandoned their fixed locations and appear to be adapting to the new conditions by settling into new field positions.
The failure of the Kurdish scenario is further evidence that the bet on Iran's internal division has not paid off.
Posted by: badanov ||
03/16/2026 00:00 ||
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#1
Two Weeks of War: What the Americans, Iranians, and Israelis Are Preparing for
This very headline is a LIE. How about "Forty six plus years of war"
"It's like drug dealing. You give them something that they're [going to] get high off of. A kid who’s looking for a sense of meaning, belonging, purpose, identity," Shaikh said on "Saturday in America."
"He’s a zero in real life, and he goes online, and suddenly he’s Abu Jihad, a superhero. He’s from zero to hero overnight."
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Iranian-enriched uranium is currently buried under the rubble of US-destroyed nuclear facilities and could be removed, but Iran has no such plans. This was stated by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on March 15.
"As you know, our nuclear facilities were attacked. And everything is under rubble. Of course, there is the possibility of removing them, but only under the supervision of the [International] Atomic Energy Agency. But for now, we don't have a [nuclear] program. We have no plans to remove them from under the rubble," Araghchi said in an interview with CBS.
On March 8, New York Times journalists, citing informed sources, reported that US intelligence fears Iran may be able to access uranium buried after last year's strikes on the Isfahan nuclear facility. According to these reports, Tehran allegedly gained access to the uranium through a narrow passage in the rubble.
We discussed here that it isn’t easy — the heavy uranium gas will have percolated down to the bottom of everything, and then through any cracks in the concrete into the bedrock below and mixed in with the rubble and the dust. My takeaway is that they would have to mine it there and then refine it all over again.
Posted by: badanov ||
03/16/2026 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[GatewayPundit] The fallen heroes were identified as:
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...
