Thursday, March 19, 2026

03/19 Links Pt1: Melanie Phillips: Wimps and warriors; Understanding Iran's Imminent Threat to America; Don't Expect Iran to Surrender: Suffering Is the Ultimate Virtue to Shias

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Wimps and warriors
The war against Iran is having a most clarifying effect. It’s shining a light on those who are prepared to stand with civilization against barbarism and flushing out those who are not.

The usual suspects—those who hate Israel, despise America and stick pins into effigies of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—are willing Iran to win, or more to the point, willing Trump and Netanyahu to lose.

Those who get news of the war only from mainstream media outlets in America and Britain have little idea of what’s actually happening.

Many have no idea that throughout the years, hundreds of American soldiers were killed by Iranian proxies in Iraq and in repeated terrorist attacks on U.S. bases. They are ignorant of the thousands of missiles amassed by Hezbollah, which is currently firing hundreds of them at Israeli citizens from Lebanon every day.

All they know from media outlets like The New York Times or the BBC is that the war was always going to be a disaster, it’s becoming a quagmire, it’s going to destroy the world’s economy, Trump is incompetent, he hasn’t got a strategy, and Iran is winning.

In an article on Unherd, Sohrab Ahmari has complained that Trump betrayed his promise as a “war-weary populist” to become “a chaos agent,” failing to display a proper “aversion to wanton bloodshed and destruction.”

To characterize this war as “wanton bloodshed and destruction” is not only wantonly to dismiss Iran’s bloody record and the mortal threat it has increasingly posed to America, Israel and the West. It also grossly misrepresents as “chaos” the astoundingly precise, targeted, steady destruction of Iran’s entire military machine and apparatus of internal repression.

By the start of this week, Iranian ballistic-missile and drone launches had fallen by more than 90% and 75%, respectively.

Much of Iran’s regular navy is lying at the bottom of the sea, while its fast-attack craft, midget submarines and mine-laying capabilities are being liquidated. Its air defenses have been largely obliterated so that America’s non-stealth B-1 bombers are generally flying unimpeded over Iranian airspace.

Yes, Iran’s extortion racket in the Straits of Hormuz is causing a major problem. But that can be addressed by eliminating Iran’s ability to hit shipping.

And if the regime is totally defanged in accordance with the aims of this war, the oil weapon at this infamous maritime choke-point won’t be used ever again—a hitherto unthinkable boon that would be very much worth the short-term pain.
John Spencer: Day 19: The United States and Israel Are Still Winning in Iran
What are the political goals of the war with Iran? For the U.S., the objectives have been clear. Deny Iran a nuclear weapon. Destroy its missile and drone programs. Neutralize its ability to threaten maritime commerce. Reduce its capacity to project power externally.

This is not a war of regime change. It is a war for regime behavior change. The U.S. is not seeking to replace the Iranian system of governance. It is seeking to force that system to abandon the behaviors that threaten core U.S. national interests.

Iran's goals are equally clear. The regime seeks to survive. It seeks to retain its nuclear potential, preserve its missile and drone arsenals, and maintain its ability to use the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of global economic coercion. It seeks to continue projecting power while maintaining internal control through repression.

The question then becomes: who is achieving their goals? On Day 19 of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. and Israel are still winning. The scale of what has been accomplished is measurable. American forces have flown 6,500 combat flights and struck 7,000 targets across Iran. The Israeli military reports dropping 10,000 munitions in 7,600 strikes against 2,200 regime targets, conducted across 5,000 sorties. These numbers reflect sustained, large-scale combat operations designed to dismantle the regime's military architecture.

The most senior figures across Iran's political, military, and internal security echelons have been eliminated, along with multiple brigadier generals, intelligence chiefs, and nuclear program leaders. This is the systematic removal of entire echelons of leadership across political, military, intelligence, and internal repression structures. It is not accurate to assume that replacements will simply step in and think, act, and perform exactly like those who were removed.

What is happening in Iran is without modern precedent. Entire layers of leadership, networks, institutional knowledge, and personal authority have been eliminated simultaneously. When those are removed in waves, what follows is not seamless continuity. It is disruption, fragmentation, competition, and uncertainty. The cumulative effects strike at regime cohesion, morale, and will. As of Day 19, the U.S. and Israel are achieving their strategic aims. Iran is not.
U.S. Intelligence Official: Iranian Regime "Largely Degraded" but Intact
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday: "The Intelligence Community (IC) assesses that Operation Epic Fury is advancing fundamental change in the region...resulting in weakening Iran and its proxies."

"The regime in Iran appears to be intact but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities. Its conventional military power-projection capabilities have largely been destroyed, leaving limited options. Iran's strategic position has been significantly degraded."

"Even if the regime remains intact, the IC assesses that internal tensions are likely to increase as Iran's economy worsens....If a hostile regime survives, it will likely seek to begin a years-long effort to rebuild its military missiles and UAV forces....Iran has long viewed the U.S. as an adversary and is engaged in active conflict with the U.S."

"The United States continues to face a complex and evolving threat landscape with a geographically diverse set of Islamist terrorist actors seeking to propagate their ideology globally and harm Americans....The spread of Islamist ideology, in some cases led by individuals and organizations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, poses a fundamental threat to freedom and the foundational principles that underpin Western civilization."

"Islamist groups and individuals use this ideology for recruiting and financial support for terrorist groups and individuals around the world and to advance their political objectives of establishing an Islamist caliphate which governs based on Sharia."


Kassy Akiva: Iran Tried To Drive Wedge Between Israel, Muslim World — It May Be Doing The Exact Opposite
The war with Iran is putting the Abraham Accords to the test, but experts say the conflict could ultimately pave the way for new normalization agreements.

The U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states faced strain during Israel’s recent war with Hamas, triggering widespread anger across the Arab world and putting governments such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco under pressure to distance themselves from Israel.

But Iran’s expanding campaign of missile and drone attacks on its neighbors has shifted the strategic picture, potentially pushing several Arab states closer to the United States and Israel, experts say.

Existing Abraham Accords members are already seeing the practical benefits of that cooperation as they work to defend themselves from Iranian attacks on both civilian and military sites within their countries.

Nir Boms, the director of the Tel Aviv University Workshop on Israel and the Middle East, said the conflict has effectively become a real-world stress test for the Abraham Accords.

“The Iranian strategy was to cause damage — economic damage, damage to even civilian infrastructure — in order to increase the pressure by the regional countries to work against Israel and work against the United States,” Boms said.

Instead, he said, the war has highlighted the benefits of regional cooperation.

“We’ve actually had more channels where Israel could be of assistance when it comes to civilian defense, when it comes to some of the systems that the Gulf countries now have to adopt very quickly,” he said.

Israeli defense technology, including the Barak missile system, is being used by the United Arab Emirates as part of its air defense network. Israeli experts have also reportedly advised regional partners on strengthening civilian warning systems and defenses.

Defense sales have also increased between Israel and Abraham Accords partners. Israel’s defense exports reached a record $14.8 billion in 2024, with countries that signed the accords accounting for about 12% of those exports — up from just 3% in 2023, according to a report from the Institute for National Security Studies. Sales to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were among the fastest-growing.
Jake Wallis Simons: No, Trump isn’t fighting Iran on behalf of Israel
All sane people understand that the defeat of Iran will benefit both the Middle East and the world, not just the narrow interests of the Jewish state. Yes, Israel is first in Tehran’s gun-sights, but this is a regime that has attacked all of its neighbours in recent days.

It is the foremost sponsor of terror on Earth, including plots on British shores. It has destabilised the region and, through Hezbollah, established drug smuggling networks across the world that have brought addiction, violence and misery to whole societies.

It has driven a pandemic of religious fanaticism that has radicalised Muslims in Britain and across the West, subverted our democratic institutions, funded Islamism, brainwashed children, chilled free speech and cost the eye of Salman Rushdie. And, of course, it massacred more than 30,000 of its own people in two days in January, the worst such massacre since Babyn Yar in 1941.

It is beyond absurd to frame this war as America doing the bidding of the Jews. Unsurprisingly, Kent has a history of alleged ties to white supremacists and neo-Nazis. But he is far from alone. Isolationist at best, anti-Semitic at worst, Trump’s most zealous followers are growing restive. By accusing Israel of going rogue and asserting his dominance, Trump may be buying some time with them, too.
Iran’s 'day after' debate shifts from regime change to who governs next
Even planning for a “day after Iran” scenario requires restraint. Transitional periods carry risks, including nuclear uncertainty, score-settling inside the regime, ethnic and regional fragmentation, and a scramble for control among armed factions.

Still, dismissing Pahlavi’s plan would be a mistake.

For the first time in years, there is a structured attempt to answer a question that has long hovered over discussions about Iran: If not the Islamic Republic, then what? His framework, while contested, provides a starting point.

It signals that regime change can be paired with an effort to preserve order, restore services, and create a path toward public legitimacy rather than chaos.

Iran’s future will not be decided by any single figure. It will emerge from a convergence of forces: protesters in Tehran, workers in provincial cities, elements within the security establishment, and voices in exile seeking to influence events.

The challenge is to remove a regime and replace it with something durable.

History offers a clear lesson. Revolutions are judged not only by how regimes fall but by what follows. Institutions must be rebuilt. Security must be restored without returning to repression. Political legitimacy must be earned over time.

Pahlavi’s vision attempts to address that gap. Whether it can succeed remains uncertain. But the existence of a plan, however debated, already changes the conversation.

For years, the question of Iran’s future was deferred. That is no longer the case.

If the Islamic Republic collapses tomorrow, the vacuum will not wait. The question is whether anyone is ready for what comes next.
To Pretend that Iranian Leader Larijani Was "Reasonable" Is Foolish
The death of Ali Larijani is a stunning operational coup for the Israeli-American alliance.

Removing Iran's national security chief, the man responsible for the brutal slaughter of thousands of protesters, is a necessary step in degrading and destroying Tehran's command networks, and towards a just conclusion of this conflict.

Yet BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson responded to Larijani's death by describing the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as "clever and reasonable - the kind of person you might want to negotiate a peace deal with."

Mr. Simpson mused, was it "a good idea for Israel to take out people like him?" The answer is an unequivocal yes.

Iran has posed a threat to the U.S., to Israel, and to its neighbors for decades. It had shown no intention of changing course.

If it had been left to its own devices, Tehran would surely have continued to make progress towards viable nuclear weapons. It would have continued to develop and stockpile ballistic missiles and drones.

And it would have continued to sponsor terrorism around the world, striking at Western interests.
Understanding Iran's Imminent Threat to America
When the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, critics charged that there was no imminent threat to the U.S. These critics are mistaken. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its global proxy network have killed more than 1,000 Americans since 1979. Iranian-backed forces conducted over 180 attacks on U.S. military bases in 2023–2024 alone. Iran's stockpile of 60% highly enriched uranium reached a breakout threshold for nuclear weapons before the June 2025 strikes.

The question is not whether Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S. The question is why it took 47 years to respond to its longstanding threats.

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who headed the CIA in the 1990s, determined that the Iranian nuclear program has constituted an imminent threat: "If their policy is to go to the threshold but not assemble a nuclear weapon, how do you tell that they have not assembled?" By the time the U.S. knows with certainty that Iran has crossed the nuclear threshold, it may be too late to act.

Ayatollah Khomeini's designation of America as the "Great Satan" was not political rhetoric. It was a theological ruling encoding the elimination of American influence as a religious obligation of the revolutionary state. "Death to America" has been operational doctrine since 1979 - chanted at official rallies, printed on state banners, and repeated by Supreme Leader Khamenei at the close of diplomatic speeches, including during nuclear talks in February 2026, just days before the strikes.

Iran's nuclear program transforms its hostility into an existential and irreversible threat. According to the last verified IAEA inventory before the June 2025 strikes, Iran held 9,875 kg. of enriched uranium, including 440 kg. enriched to 60% purity - far beyond any civilian energy requirement. The IAEA Director General warned in April 2025 that Iran was months from potential weaponization.

The Islamic Republic of Iran built the Middle East's largest ballistic missile arsenal, an advanced drone program, a five-country proxy network, a narco-terror enterprise operating inside the U.S., and a uranium stockpile assessed at one week from nuclear weapons-grade breakout.
Don't Expect Iran to Surrender: Suffering Is the Ultimate Virtue to Shias
The Shia have an entrenched understanding of the virtue of suffering for their beliefs. An understanding of suffering and of striving in the way of Allah has been married to the theology of end time, when the twelfth Imam or Mahdi will return and establish a rule of justice.

As the Iran-Iraq war demonstrated, if this struggle results in mass martyrdom, this is thought to only hasten the coming of the Imam Mahdi. Iran's creating and strengthening its proxies is based on establishing the rule of God and thus hastening the return of the Mahdi.

What the West, and its allies, need to understand is that the rhetoric coming from Tehran is influenced by this martyr complex. If the regime were to fall, the Islamist revolutionaries have a ready-made force for indefinite resistance to whatever takes the place of the present regime and to its allies. Withdrawal to the mountains and deserts, as well as exile, is an aspect of sharing in the sufferings of their imams, and resistance to the "ungodly" will be understood as hastening the return of Imam Mahdi.

If the regime survives, this will be seen as a vindication by Allah of the sacrifices made by the IRGC, the Basij and the regime generally. If the military action results in a change of regime, there must be preparations to prevent the Basij and other elements from being able to wage an indefinite guerrilla war.


Why Hizbullah Will Go Down Fighting
All over Lebanon there are villages where Hizbullah's patronage, guns and narrative of "resistance" continue to hold sway. It is the same in Dahiyeh, the group's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Yet Hizbullah does not represent all of Lebanon. Shia Muslims make up a third of the six million population and most have nothing to do with the group. Its decision to enter the war explicitly on behalf of its spiritual and financial backers in Tehran has exacerbated sectarian divides.

Julien Barnes-Darcy, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, says Hizbullah is no longer fighting from a position of strength, but from the realization that its existence is threatened. "You've got Israel squeezing from the outside [and] a strong segment of the population within Lebanon who see both a need and potentially an opportunity to finally cut Hizbullah down to size."

"Hizbullah's situation, in a sense, mirrors Iran's wider position. For both of them, this is seen through an existential lens. It's seen as a moment of truth, and if they are unable to put up a meaningful fight, then others are going to go for the jugular and look to finally get rid of them."

Nicholas Blanford, who has documented Hizbullah's rise to become the world's most powerful non-state army, said, "The guys doing the fighting, I don't think they care one way or the other about the Iranians. They see this as part of their jihadi struggle against the Israelis. They've gone into this battle highly motivated. They've been itching to get back into the scrap with the Israelis."

But "I hear this a lot from Shias who have had to evacuate Dahiyeh or come from the south. You know, they are saying, 'this is ridiculous. We're already suffering now. They've just made things even worse. Enough! We've had it with Hizbullah'."
Netanyahu transcript: ‘We have to be more powerful than the barbarians, or they will crash our gates, destroy our societies’
‘History proves that, unfortunately and unhappily, Jesus Christ has no advantage over Genghis Khan,’ says PM in his first English presser of the war, arguing that US and Israel had to ‘act now’ against Iran’s regime


Olympians break silence after Iran publicly executes 19-year-old wrestling star
The execution of Iranian wrestling star Saleh Mohammadi left the sports world mourning Thursday.

Iran's regime executed the 19-year-old man on Thursday. Mohammadi was reportedly killed in a public hanging, according to Iranian American human rights activists and dissidents.

Iran International reported that Iran’s regime hanged Mohammadi and two additional Iranian men, Mehdi Ghasemiand and Saeed Davoudi, "after being accused of killing two police officers during nationwide protests earlier this year," the judiciary-linked Mizan news agency reported.

Multiple Olympians have shared their reactions to the execution with Fox News Digital.

Brandon Slay, Olympic gold medal wrestler at Sydney 2000
"As someone who has traveled to Iran for wrestling twice and welcomed Iranian athletes into our country, I’ve seen firsthand the dignity and heart of the Iranian people. That’s why it’s so heartbreaking to witness a terror regime execute a teenage wrestler," Slay told Fox News Digital.

"My prayers are with Saleh Mohammadi’s family and all who are suffering. In the face of such oppression, I hold to the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only light that overcomes darkness and only truth that proclaims justice and mercy will one day prevail."

Tyler Clary, US gold medal swimmer at London 2012
U.S. swimmer Tyler Clary celebrates winning gold in the men's 200-meter backstroke final at the London 2012 Olympic Games Aug. 2, 2012, in London. (Christophe Simon/AFP)

"As an Olympic gold medalist, I’ve spent my life around athletes who represent the very best of human discipline and freedom. What we’re seeing in Iran — the execution of a wrestler after what appears to be a sham process — is a brutal reminder of what that regime stands for. This is exactly why strong leadership matters," Clary told Fox News Digital.

"President Trump has been clear-eyed about the nature of this regime and the need to stand up to it, and moments like this prove why that approach is necessary."
Macron: Shut down Tehran’s terror embassy in Paris immediately
Mr. President of the Republic,

I have the honor, as a French citizen, of addressing to you a solemn and urgent request.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, known as the Pasdaran) was officially designated a terrorist organization by the European Union on January 29, 2026, a decision endorsed by the Council February 19, 2026, with France’s active support.

Despite this designation, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Paris continues to shelter and protect active members of this terrorist organization. Iranian terrorism targeting France

These agents create a grave and intolerable climate of insecurity on national territory: They explicitly designate, as priority targets, French citizens, French nationals of Iranian origin (opponents in exile and victims of assassination and abduction plots), as well as French Jews, as has been repeatedly denounced by the Directorate General for Internal Security (DGSI) and European intelligence services.

The facts are dramatic and recent:
• On March 12, 2026, Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion became the first French soldier killed by an Iranian Shahed drone near Erbil in Iraq; six other French soldiers were wounded in the same attack.
• Hezbollah, Iran’s direct armed proxy, assassinated 58 French soldiers in the Drakkar bombing in Beirut in 1983.
• Since October 7, 2023, Hamas – in an operation funded, armed, and directed by Tehran – has killed 51 French nationals.

In these circumstances, where the Iranian regime has already caused the death of Frion along with 109 other French citizens and soldiers, the presence on our soil of an embassy sheltering agents of a terrorist organization is incompatible with national security and with the Republic’s duty to protect all its citizens.
Communal buildings that Iranian duo allegedly spied on are named in court
Two alleged spies for Iran are accused of carrying out “hostile” surveillance on London’s Jewish community, including at a college and Britain’s oldest synagogue, a court has heard.

Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, and Alireza Farasati, 22, are accused of engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between July 9 and August 15 last year.

It is said Shahsavani identified “targets” for surveillance, including the Israeli embassy and consulate in London, the JW3 community centre in Finchley Road, north London, and the Bevis Marks Synagogue in Aldgate, in the City of London, which is Britain’s oldest synagogue.

A home in Colchester, the Sternberg Centre for Judaism – home of the movement for Progressive Judaism, and the largest synagogue denomination in the UK in Finchley, north London – and the Community Security Trust headquarters are also alleged to have been targeted.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told a woman living in the UK who has been accused of being a Mossad agent is also alleged to have been targeted.

Shahsavani and Farasati appeared in the dock together on Thursday morning to face a charge brought under the National Security Act 2023.

Louise Attrill, prosecuting, told the court: “The two defendants are suspected of assisting the Iranian intelligence service by conducting hostile surveillance of locations and individuals linked to the Israeli and Jewish community.”

Shahsavani, a delivery driver, is said to have “tasked” Farasati “to conduct the surveillance activity against Israeli and Jewish sites and possible targets linked to the Iranian intelligence service”.

It is said Shahsavani and Farasati had been “gathering information and undertaking reconnaissance of targets, and knew or ought to have known their conduct was likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service”.

Shahsavani, a father-of-two of Sandringham Gardens in North Finchley, north London, is a dual Iranian and British national and has lived in the UK since 2009.

Farasati, of Sanday Drive in Colindale, north-west London, who is a trained barber, is an Iranian national and moved to the UK as a 17-year-old in 2021.
Current, former U.S. and Israeli officials reject Trump claim that U.S. ‘knew nothing’ about Israeli strike on South Pars gas field
Current and former Israeli and U.S. officials suggested that an Israeli strike on an Iranian gas field on Wednesday that prompted the Islamic Republic to strike Qatar was coordinated with the White House, despite President Donald Trump’s claim that the U.S. “knew nothing about this particular attack.”

Trump made the remarks in a Truth Social post, in which he threatened that the U.S. would bomb the South Pars gas field, the Iranian portion of the larger field shared with Qatar, if Iran does not stop attacking Qatar.

“The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape or form involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen. Unfortunately, Iran did not know this … and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s [liquid natural gas] facility,” the president wrote.

If “Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar,” he added, the U.S., “with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before.”

An Israeli official told Kan News, Israel’s public broadcaster, that the attack on the South Pars gas field was coordinated with the U.S.

Dan Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Pentagon official in the Biden administration, wrote on X, “Trump can post whatever he likes. But there is zero, I mean zero, chance the IDF would conduct a strike in that location without giving CENTCOM full visibility.”

“Trump knew (and approved),” Shapiro added. “Now he realizes it caused a major escalation with Iran’s (entirely unjustified) attacks on Gulf energy targets.”


Caspian strike marks first IDF hit on Iran-Russia supply lifeline
For the first time since the “Roaring Lion” war began, the IDF attacked targets belonging to the Iranian Navy Wednesday evening in the port city of Bandar Anzali, on the Caspian Sea in northern Iran.

The IDF said that “the Air Force, guided by the Navy and Military Intelligence, struck targets in northern Iran for the first time in Operation Rising Lion.” Israeli officials confirmed that the strikes targeted Iranian Navy vessels in the port. The strike expanded the war’s maritime arena beyond the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, reaching the Caspian Sea for the first time.

Bandar Anzali is home to the main base of the Iranian Navy’s northern fleet, and the port plays a central role in the maritime trade route between Iran and Russia. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Caspian has become a key smuggling corridor: Iranian and Russian ships have routinely switched off their tracking systems and transferred cargo between the Iranian ports of Anzali and Amirabad and the Russian port of Astrakhan. Tehran has used the route to send Moscow drones, missiles, bullets and mortar shells for use against Ukraine.

That is how the Caspian Sea, which ostensibly has no connection to the combat zones, became a vital supply artery that helped feed the Russian war machine throughout the four years of war in Ukraine.

“Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck targets at an Iranian Navy port and base facilities where dozens of military vessels, including missile ships and guard boats, were stationed,” the IDF said in a statement on Thursday.

The Israeli military described the attack as “one of the most significant strikes” it carried out since the start of the war on Feb. 28.

The operation was conducted with close cooperation between IAF commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar and Israeli Navy head Rear Adm. David Saar Salama from within the IAF command center, the army added.

“The strike on this infrastructure further degrades the Iranian regimes capabilities while impairing the Iranian Navy’s control of the Caspian Sea,” the IDF stated.
UAE says it broke up terror cell tied to Hezbollah, Iran amid Gulf tensions, arrests suspects
United Arab Emirates authorities said on Friday they had dismantled a "terrorist network" funded and operated by Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran, and arrested its members.

According to the state news agency, the network was involved in "money laundering, financing terrorism and threatening national security."

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah or Iran.

Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran in late February, Tehran has launched large-scale missile and drone attacks across the Gulf, with the UAE among the most heavily targeted countries.
Kuwait says 10 Hezbollah operatives nabbed for alleged plot to attack ‘vital installations’
"[Kuwait's] State Security Service has dismantled sleeper cells seeking to undermine the country's security. Following intensive surveillance and security investigations, 10 citizens who are members of a terrorist group affiliated with the banned Hizbullah terrorist organization were apprehended."

The individuals had been coordinating with foreign entities to provide them with the coordinates of targeted sites.

"Investigations revealed that the cell members received training abroad in Hizbullah camps on using weapons and drone operation, in preparation for carrying out sabotage operations."


4 hurt as Hezbollah rocket hits Kiryat Shmona; Iran missile fragment hits Haifa oil refinery
Four people were injured Thursday evening as a Hezbollah rocket from Lebanon hit a home in Kiryat Shmona, and an Iranian missile fragment hit Haifa’s oil refinery, causing damage but no injuries, amid the Israeli-American war with Iran.

Fourteen missile salvos — more than in recent days — were fired Thursday at central, northern and southern Israel, as well as the Jerusalem area, where four sirens sounded within an hour around midnight. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Hezbollah kept up its frequent rocket and drone attacks on the north.

After the direct hit in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona in the evening, the Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance service said it had treated a man in his 60s in serious condition who sustained a shrapnel injury to his abdomen, a woman aged 68 in moderate condition who was injured in the head, and two men in their 20s who were lightly hurt by a blast.

All four were taken to a hospital, MDA said.

“We heard the sirens and entered the safe room, and then the boom came. I immediately understood that it hit the building. My balcony has fallen apart and there is damage in the house, but I’m okay,” Miriam Ben Shaia, who lives with her husband in the building that was hit, told the Ynet news site.

She said she returned to Kiryat Shmona a few months ago, after being displaced and living in Tiberias for two years amid the war that began in October 2023.

“The feeling is that nothing has changed; we simply went back in time,” she lamented.


Call me Back Podcast: The Strategy to Re-Open Hormuz - with Nadav Eyal
Can the world’s most powerful militaries reopen the Strait of Hormuz…or is Iran already winning the economic war?

Eighteen days into Operation Epic Fury, Iran is increasing its pressure on the world’s energy supply chain. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively under lockdown, oil flows have slowed to a trickle, prices are rising, and the risk of broader escalation is growing. Ark Media contributor Nadav Eyal joins Dan to break down why America and Israel’s military superiority hasn’t been enough to reopen the strait, what Israel’s latest strike on Iran’s energy infrastructure signals, and whether the current campaign is quietly setting the stage for regime change.

In this episode:
06:18 – 18 Days Into War: Where Things Stand
12:48 – The consequences of Iran's selective-blockade
14:48 – Can the US reopen the Strait of Hormuz?
20:24 – The World’s Tepid Response
23:24 – Decapitating Iran’s Leadership
26:54 – Is Regime Change the Endgame?


Commentary Podcast: The Pod-Caste System
Today we discuss the torrent of right wing podcast commentary regarding the war in Iran and the importance of a victory in the conflict to combating their narratives, as well as more revelations on Zohran Mamdani's wife, and the aftermath of Joe Kent's resignation and appearance on Tucker Carlson's show. Plus, the new sexual misconduct allegations against Cesar Chavez.


Karl Rove: MAGA Voters Don't Agree with Noisy Podcasters Who Oppose Iran War
Operation Epic Fury has greatly diminished Iran's offensive capabilities.

Gone are many of its air defenses, missiles, drones, radars, planes, warships, bases, airfields, command-and-control centers, security headquarters, bunkers and hiding places - along with many leaders of the regime that has pledged "Death to America" since the shah fell in 1979.

At home, the U.S. and Israeli air assault has revealed a significant divide between MAGA voters and a small but influential group of MAGA media figures who claim to speak for them.

Much of the criticism of Operation Epic Fury comes from the blame-it-on-the-Jews chorus. But do voters who identify themselves as MAGA Republicans share their opinions?

A poll conducted March 3-5 by the Vandenberg Coalition among 1,232 Trump voters found 84% approval of Mr. Trump's "decision to authorize military action against Iran."

A big part of the president's appeal has been his determination to make the U.S. military the greatest force for good on the planet and to project American strength. The Vandenberg poll shows the MAGA base is lining up behind this and ignoring Mr. Trump's isolationist critics.




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