Operation Epic Failure: 3k US casualties in 1st week; Trump 'not afraid' of new Vietnam; MAGA disintegrates; Bibi in coma?; Iran's new missiles - IRAN WAR NEWS - 18-Mar-2026 (update 4)
"Netanyahu finally found someone stupid enough to do it." -- Max Blumenthal, referring to Trump and the US war on Iran
12bytes: In the purist spirit of 'FAFO' (fuck around, find out) Trump has started a religious war at the direction of his Zionist masters that he has been losing badly since he bombed a school full of young girls on day 1, exactly as intended. Any hope Trump had of achieving his goals in the Middle East are rapidly evaporating. US bases in the region are largely destroyed leaving their hosts and Israel blind to incoming munitions. The damage to Israel is immense and the situation worsens by the hour. Trump is seeking an exit ramp, however his back is against the Wailing Wall and 'plan B' is something they're making up as they go. Worse still, It is a near certainty that even if the US pulled out, the Iranian attack on Israel would continue until the Zionist scum have paid a price that Iran deems sufficient. Meanwhile, Iran controls shipping in the Hormuz Strait and thus has its enemies by their proverbial balls until its demands are met, including a total US withdrawal from the region and the elimination of sanctions. What will the end look like? Will the US and/or Israel deploy nuclear weapons? Russia and China are unlikely to allow Iran to fall.
12bytes: Rather than repeating myself for these stories regarding Iranian attacks on their enemies in general, and particularly those upon the US bases in the Gulf region, i'll say it here: These bases (Saudi, UAE, Bahrain, Dubai, Oman, etc.) constantly report that incoming Iranian missiles and drones are being intercepted, or fell out of the sky, or missed their target, or caused only superficial damage, or that the attacks achieved only a symbolic victory, etc.. These are lies. These bases have been, or are being completely destroyed and Iran has largely depleted US air defenses making subsequent attacks even more effective. This is the case for Israel also. No one can stop Iran's hypersonic or multi-warhead missiles and they are beginning to use these weapons in greater numbers. Lastly, it is strictly forbidden for people in Israel or the US base states to report on the damage inflicted by Iran. Many people have been arrested. Now you know why we're not getting a lot of visuals regarding damage in Israel or the Gulf states.
The Pentagon is seeking more than $200 billion to fund the war with Iran, according to a report by The Washington Post citing a senior US administration official.
The report said White House officials are sceptical that Congress will approve the request.
The newspaper also said the cost of the conflict rose sharply in its early days, exceeding $11 billion in the first week alone.
Hezbollah said it destroyed six Israeli Merkava tanks during clashes in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces attempted to advance near the town of Taybeh toward the Deir Siryan area.
A vessel was struck by an "unknown projectile" late Wednesday off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates near the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said.
The incident occurred in the Gulf of Oman, about 11 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan, and resulted in a fire on board.
The attack comes amid rising maritime security concerns in the region. More than 20 oil tankers, cargo ships and other vessels have reported incidents in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman since the conflict began, according to UKMTO data.
Analysis of escalating Middle East tensions following reported strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure. Discussion covers potential regional retaliation targeting Gulf oil facilities and desalination plants, plus the strategic chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz. Examines Hezbollah's military capabilities amid speculation of a major ground operation in Lebanon, and the broader implications for global energy markets and shipping routes. Also addresses shifting geopolitical dynamics, questions surrounding US foreign policy decisions, and the resignation of a key administration figure over strategic disagreements. Explores how the conflict may permanently reshape energy security calculations worldwide, driving up costs and forcing nations to reconsider infrastructure protection. A sobering look at escalation risks, the vulnerability of critical civilian infrastructure, and the interconnected nature of modern economic warfare in a multipolar world.
Analysis of Middle East escalation following strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure. Discusses Iran's threatened retaliation against Gulf state facilities, the strategic logic behind Israeli-American escalation efforts, and why the war increasingly favors Tehran. Examines the administration's lack of coherent strategy, logistical challenges including depleted cruise missile stocks, and the continued effectiveness of the Axis of Resistance. Key insights: Iran's strategic patience, the impossibility of achieving stated objectives without massive ground occupation, European reluctance to fully engage, and economic warfare impacting global energy markets. Questions the viability of current policy, highlights internal dissent, and warns of prolonged regional instability with risks of wider economic disruption.
In this video Ryan Dawson provides an analysis of mutiny on board the USS Gerald R. Ford. That Hezbollah is dominating Israel on the ground and crisis in the Gulf.
During the first Trump administration, the FBI quietly spent $5 million on Pegasus, an Israeli-developed software product known generically as zero click. Zero click permits the user to download the contents of another mobile or desktop device without tricking the user of that device into clicking on a viral link.
When FBI Director Christopher Wray was confronted with evidence of this purchase in 2021, he stated under oath at a congressional hearing that his agents did not and would not use it; but they bought it because they wanted to understand how it worked. He claimed that it was in storage under lock and key in a warehouse in New Jersey.
Not trusting his own FBI director, President Joe Biden signed an executive order in 2023 prohibiting the use of this software by any employee of the federal government except for true national security emergencies. Last week, we learned that President Donald Trump quietly rescinded Biden's executive order.
We also learned last week that the infamous section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires next month and which Trump once condemned when he believed it was being used against him personally when he was out of office as well as during his first term, now has the president's full endorsement for a legislative extension.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced staging the 63rd wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 in the face of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression, targeting oil facilities associated with the United States in the region.
The latest phase took place on Wednesday, following recent attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure, the Corps' Public Relations Office said in a statement. Staged "with full force," the 63rd wave also came in retaliation for the martyrdom of Iran's Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib and others during the aggression, it added.
[...]
'Attack on Iran's energy infrastructure took conflict to new stage'
"The Islamic Republic did not intend to expand the war to oil facilities and did not wish to harm the economies of friendly and neighboring countries," the IRGC said.
"However, with the enemy's aggression against energy infrastructure, Iran has effectively entered a new stage of the conflict, and the necessity to defend the country's energy infrastructure compelled a retaliatory strike against American-linked energy facilities."
Message to Iranian people
Addressing the nation, the IRGC declared, "Your brave sons in the Armed Forces immediately launched an offensive in response to the enemy's malice, and through a heavy, targeted operation, set fire to a series of oil facilities considered to be American interests in the region.
The reprisal, it added, "inflicted damage proportional" to the one that had been imposed on the country.
The 63rd wave also hit a gathering of Israeli forces in the southern part of the occupied territories using a multi-warhead Qadr missile.
Warning to US, Israeli forces
The IRGC also issued a stern warning to the American-Zionist aggressors against repeating their strikes against the country's energy sites.
"If this is repeated, subsequent attacks on your energy infrastructure and that of your allies will not cease until total destruction, and our response will be far more severe than tonight's strikes."
12bytes: Not bad for being a "defeated" nation with no missiles left, eh?
The Habshan gas facilities in Abu Dhabi were shut down after debris fell from intercepted missiles, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said.
12bytes: "Falling debris". They're arresting people who photo damage. Do you think the government will admit that the "falling debris" is the missiles they're no longer able to intercept?
Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said its forces intercepted eight drones and a ballistic missile launched towards the Eastern Province within the past hour.
12bytes: And there it is again!; "in-ter-cep-ted". OH! I GET IT! It's an anagram! "NEED CPR TIE T..." - looks like they got cut off for some reason.
Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the kingdom reserves the right to take military action against Iran if necessary, accusing Tehran of pressuring its neighbours rather than engaging in dialogue.
12bytes: I don't think Iran is talking to pedophiles and terrorists, but you try calling them. I thin the number is 800-FUCK-OFF, ext. LOL, but you might get an answering machine if they're busy bombing your shit. Can't say you weren't warned; harbor terrorists, get slapped.
MINAB, IRAN-Families arrive at the cemetery after sunset. They come carrying rugs and cushions, food and water, and candles or lanterns that they place on the small, freshly dug graves. Parents carefully clean the tombstones of their buried children. They arrange the spaces around them and settle in for the night-a quiet vigil that will continue until dawn.
The collective grief in Minab, Iran is unfathomable. At least 168 children, most of them girls aged between seven and 12 years old, were killed in a single strike on the Shajareh Tayyiba elementary school on February 28, in the opening hours of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Israeli settlers sexually assaulted a Palestinian man during a raid on the community of Khirbet Humsa in the northern Jordan Valley, according to witness testimony cited by Haaretz, in an attack that survivors say also involved beatings, threats of rape, the humiliation of women and girls and the looting of livestock and valuables.
Testimonies from eyewitnesses showed that settlers split into small groups and moved through the community, dragging residents from their homes, binding their hands and feet with zip ties and throwing men, women and children onto the ground. Some victims were doused with cold water while restrained and beaten with clubs and knives visible.
One woman said the attackers tore off her head covering, ripped some of her clothes and pulled girls from the tents before beating them, including young children. Another resident said settlers cut him above the wrist with a knife before binding him.
The most serious allegation concerns the sexual assault of a Palestinian man in front of his family. An American activist present in the village said that settlers pulled down the man's trousers, poured water over him and beat him brutally while he lay curled up on the ground unable to defend himself.
Witnesses also said settlers threatened to rape women and kill children. Residents told Haaretz that one attacker, who spoke Arabic, warned that if the community did not leave, the settlers would return, burn the homes, kill the children and rape the women.
One mother said that while she was bound, a settler threatened to come back and take her daughters, then grabbed and slapped her 14-year-old daughter in front of her. Survivors said obscene and degrading language was used throughout the attack.
Three American intelligence officials confirmed it to the Washington Post. The New York Times, Reuters, and the Associated Press corroborated it. Russia is providing Iran with real-time satellite targeting coordinates for American military assets - warships in the Gulf, aircraft at coalition bases, the priority sequencing of which installations to strike first and how. The officials described the intelligence being transferred as exquisite. And when a Fox News reporter asked the president directly whether he was aware of it, he called the question stupid and started talking about collegiate athletics.
12bytes: IMPORTANT NOTE: I don't know who or what is generating the text for these reports, but the video is AI generated. This 'guy' has been wearing the same shirt and jacket for 11 days, which is the age of the channel, and there are other obvious similarities. 'He' never makes a mistake, never says 'uh', never pauses 'his' speaking, never moves 'his' arms and 'he' is seated in the exact same position for every video. That said, i have yet to find any holes in the reporting. What to make of all this? I don't know. It could be someone on the inside who needs to remain anonymous, or it could be a bad actor (intel?) that's building a subscriber base that will then shift the narrative, but for the moment, the information is of excellent quality in my opinion and it matches with reality. The real value in it is the minute details 'he' adds that connects the dots and add context. 'Frum' may be a reference to David Frum of The Atlantic whose views i'm not familiar with, but which seem more or less in line with the YouTube channel when i look at some of his articles headlines.
Regarding the 'Frum Report', AI says: "The Frum Report YouTube channel is an independent media outlet that has faced significant censorship from Big Tech platforms due to its critical coverage of establishment narratives, particularly regarding COVID-19, election integrity, and government overreach.". The problem with that is that i couldn't find any history of the 'Frum Report' whatsoever other than the current YouTube channel which is 11 days old.
12bytes: This is unconfirmed. I'm being careful here because i made an ass of myself very early this morning.
Developing reports from inside Jerusalem's security apparatus suggest that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been incapacitated. According to an intimate source close to the Prime Minister's inner circle, Netanyahu was severely injured during the massive Iranian missile strike on the Israeli command bunker.
The source claims that the Prime Minister is currently in a coma at a secure, undisclosed medical facility. While the official Government Press Office continues to release "proof of life" videos, which are continually debunked as AI-generated, close sources paint a different picture
It's now clear that U.S. policy and leadership around the Iran conflict are driven by flawed intelligence, political opportunism, and misunderstanding of Iranian society. The shock resignation of Trump's Counterterrorism chief Joe Kent revealed something many already suspected-that the so-called 'intelligence' reaching President Trump, fed to him by Israel, CIA, and Trump's own DNI Tulsi Gabbard is, at the very least, unreliable, but more likely manipulated if not completely fabricated-leading to exaggerated or false narratives that influence decisions.
Washington, DC - Tulsi Gabbard, the director of US National Intelligence, said that the United States intelligence community had assessed that Iran was not rebuilding its nuclear enrichment capabilities following US and Israeli attacks last year.
The Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard, told lawmakers on Wednesday that it was not her job to determine what constitutes an "imminent threat" to the US, as the country's war on Iran heads into its fourth week.
Only President Donald Trump can make such a determination, she insisted at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
Democrats grilled her on how much information she supplied the president ahead of the decision to begin joint attacks with Israel on 28 February, given that Trump has repeatedly said this week how he was surprised Iran retaliated by attacking Washington's Gulf partners.
The president has also been pleading with Nato, other allies, and even China to assist militarily in reopening the Strait of Hormuz - a move that would be seen in Tehran as a widening of the war.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has struck more than 100 targets in the city of Tel Aviv in retaliation for the martyrdom of Dr. Ali Larijani, Iran's former top security official, during unprovoked American-Israeli aggression against the country.
In a statement on Wednesday, the IRGC announced hitting the targets during the 61st wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 in the face of the aggression.
The hostile objects, it added, were targeted using multi-warhead Khorramshahr-4 and Qadr missiles as well as Emad and Kheibar Shekan projectiles as a means of avenging the martyrdom of Dr. Larijani, the former secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the statement read.
"During these intense lightning strikes, the Khorramshahr-4 and Qadr missiles hit more than 100 military and security targets in the heart of the occupied territories without facing any obstruction," it added.
The IRGC put the facility characterizing this stage of the reprisal down to "the disintegration of the Zionist regime's multilayered and highly advanced air defense systems."
It cited field information as pointing to taking place of a "partial blackout" in Tel Aviv as a result of the reprisal that also resulted in the regime's forces' having a harder time controlling the situation at hand and rescuing those affected.
The Corps, meanwhile, said Operation True Promise 4 had so far either killed or injured more than 230 Zionists.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced the successful completion of the 62nd wave of Operation True Promise 4, targeting all US bases across the region and Israeli military gathering points and combat support centers with a barrage of advanced missiles and precision drones.
The IRGC Public Relations department said in a statement that the wave 62 successfully destroyed targets in Acre, Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Beersheba.
The strikes were carried out without the activation of warning sirens, demonstrating the penetration capabilities of the Iranian missiles.
The IRGC employed a variety of powerful weaponry in the latest strikes, including multi-warhead Qadr missiles, Kheibar Shekan missiles, Emad missiles, and Haj Qassem missiles.
US bases 'shoveled' for 3rd time
For the third time, all US bases throughout the region were targeted and "shoveled" by Iranian forces, the statement said.
It specifically named multiple installations that were struck: Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, Victory Base in Iraq, Al Kharj Air Base in Saudi Arabia, Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Al Udeirah Base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE, Al Azraq Air Base in Jordan, Fifth Fleet Naval Base in Bahrain, and the Arifjan Base in Kuwait.
These installations were hit with powerful multi-warhead missiles and precision explosive drones, according to the IRGC.
Footage from inside the occupied Palestinian territories documents ballistic missiles with cluster warheads launched from Iran in the sky above southern "Israel".
12bytes: Missile ... "fragments" ... mmmhmm. Ben Gurion airport is nearly out of commission by the way.
Three private planes were left with "severe" damage after being struck by missile debris at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, the Israel Airport Authority said.
American forces have lost more than a dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones in the ongoing war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to a report.
Citing two US officials, ABC News said the unmanned aircraft were either shot down by Iranian missiles or destroyed on the ground by incoming fire.
The Reaper serves a dual purpose in combat zones, conducting surveillance missions while also carrying Hellfire missiles capable of striking targets.
The significant number of losses highlights the extensive deployment of these critical assets in the war that has been widely criticized both in and outside the US.
In the span of just three days, Iran and the Axis of Resistance delivered the most devastating blow to American aerial logistics since the Vietnam War, destroying six KC-135 Stratotankers and damaging the seventh in coordinated strikes that have exposed the fatal vulnerability at the heart of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran.
Penetrating the highly-advanced Israeli missile systems stationed across the occupied territories, Iranian missiles have inflicted heavy damage upon Tel Aviv, killing two settlers and wounding tens of others in the process.
Hebrew news outlets reported that since the early hours of Wednesday, Tel Aviv and its surrounding areas have been struck by Iranian missiles at least twice, while Israeli missile systems have been unable to intercept the incoming projectiles.
According to the news outlets, Iran's massive missile and drone attacks resulted in the loss of electricity and evacuation of thousands of settlers in Tel Aviv and surrounding areas.
More than 4,000 settlers have been forced to evacuate, the reports said.
Israeli paramedics and first responders have been sent to eight areas across Tel Aviv while a major train station has been severely damaged, according to the reports.
The mayor of Tel Aviv said that because of the attacks, the movement of trains across and around Tel Aviv have been suspended until further notice.
Furthermore, several towns around Tel Aviv have lost electricity after being hit by Iranian missiles.
Israel's Channel 14 said two setters were killed when an Iranian missile hit the town of Ramat Gan, in the suburbs of Tel-Aviv.
In a statement on Wednesday, the spokesperson for Iran's army said that in recent days the armed forces have been using highly-advanced weaponry which they had not used before.
OCCUPIED PALESTINE, March 19 (YPA) - The Israeli Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday evening that the number of Israelis injured in the ongoing conflict with Iran has risen to 3,834 since the start of military operations, highlighting the escalating human cost of the confrontation.
According to an official statement, as of the evening of 18 March 2026, all injured have been evacuated to hospitals. Of those, 74 people are currently receiving treatment, including one critical case, six serious, 11 moderate, and 56 minor injuries.
The ministry added that 107 injured individuals were recorded during the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of injuries since the outbreak of the war to 3,727.
Meanwhile, the Institute for National Security Studies reported 14 Israeli deaths since the outbreak of the war. While limited compared to the number of injuries, the death toll is expected to rise amid continuing Iranian strikes.
The conflict is taking place under strict military censorship, with the Israeli army warning against publishing or sharing images and videos of targeted sites, aiming to control the flow of information during wartime.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has issued a warning that all logistical and service centers supporting the US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the Red Sea are now considered legitimate targets for Iranian armed forces, as the warship takes refuge at Saudi Arabia's Jeddah port.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says regional energy production facilities linked to the United States will be reduced to ashes as the elite force prepares to respond to attacks on Iran's natural gas production sites.
Spokesman of the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaqari said on Wednesday that Iran's attacks will target countries whose territories were used to launch airstrikes on Iran's gas facilities earlier in the day.
"Fuel, energy and natural gas infrastructure of the source of the invasion will be set ablaze and reduced to ashes at the earliest opportunity," the spokesman said in a televised statement.
Earlier on Wednesday, the IRGC issued a warning note to people living near five major energy production facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, to immediately evacuate to protect their lives from Iran's reprisal attacks.
The warning came right after Iran's Oil Ministry said four refining facilities in Asaluyeh, a Persian Gulf coastal town home to Iran's gas processing installations, had suffered damage as a result of US-Israeli airstrikes.
A series of Iranian strikes hit Saudi Arabia and Qatar late on March 18, causing damage at energy facilities in what appears to be retaliation to an earlier Israeli attack that targeted the Islamic Republic's largest gas fields.
Large blasts were reported near the Saudi capital, Riyadh, right as the kingdom's ministry of defense announced that four ballistic missiles heading in the direction of the city were intercepted.
Debris fell in various parts of the capital due to the interceptions, the ministry said in a brief statement on X, without reporting any damage or injuries. Nevertheless, videos posted online showed large fires just outside the city, with reports suggesting that an energy facility was hit.
Amid the attack on Riyadh, the ministry of defense reported the interceptions of two drones: one in the Al-Kharj province, and another that attempted "to approach one of the gas facilities" in the Eastern province.
Meanwhile in Qatar, the ministry of interior said that a fire in the Ras Laffan area - home to the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility - following an "Iranian targeting".
QatarEnergy later confirmed that the Ras Laffan Industrial City was the subject of missile attacks, and described the damage there as "extensive".
"Emergency response teams were deployed immediately to contain the resulting fires, as extensive damage had been caused. All personnel have been accounted for and no casualties have been reported at this time," the company said in a statement.
The Gulf country's ministry of defense revealed that the missile that hit the industrial city was one of five fired from Iran, noting that all other four were intercepted.
"Civil Defense teams are currently responding and working to contain the fire," the ministry said in a statement.
The strikes on Saudi Arabia and Qatar were likely an initial response by Iran to an Israeli attack that targeted the South Pars field in the city of Asaluyeh in the south of the Islamic Republic earlier in the day. The attack reportedly was carried out with the approval of the U.S.
Following the Israeli attack, Iran's state television later published a threat, saying that the Islamic Republic will be attacking oil and gas infrastructure in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Iran's President Massoud Pezeshkain said on X that the attack "will not achieve anything for the American Zionist enemy and their supporters," warning that it will only "complicate the situation" and could lead to "uncontrollable consequences that will affect the entire world."
The Iranian response could drag some Gulf countries to join the American-Israeli war. This is likely the main goal of the attack on the South Pars field.
The Handala Hack Team says it has carried out a massive cyberattack against the medical technology giant Stryker and permanently erased 12 petabytes of data.
In a statement released on Monday, the group described the operation as a "swift and calculated attack" that penetrated the "deepest layers of the network" and targeted "over 200,000 of the company's critical systems."
The Handala Hack Team stated that the destruction of data, which was "unprecedented in volume," took mere hours, despite having taken "years to collect and billions of dollars to protect."
"No defense wall will withstand our will," they said, adding that their capability to "paralyze the enemy's vital infrastructure at any moment."
Images documenting the operation have reportedly been released to the public.
This comes amid a cryptic alert from Handala on Twitter, warning that "secrets don't always stay hidden forever" and suggesting that "Senior officials at the Mossad's Iran Desk might want to pay close attention these days."
Handala further hinted that "The hours ahead could reveal unexpected truths."
The Handala Hack Team declared this attack to be "just the beginning" and issued a warning to "all those who walk the path of oppression and aggression."
12bytes: If this were true, which it is not, then why is there a news blackout from Israel and all the US bases in the region Mr. Trump? Huh? Huh? Well? ...aaaaand crickets.
US President Donald Trump has claimed without providing any evidence that Iran uses artificial intelligence (AI) to spread disinformation about its wartime success.
"AI can be very dangerous, we have to be very careful with it," Trump said to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, shortly after he made a post on his Truth Social platform where he accused Western media outlets without evidence of "close coordination" with Iran to spread AI-generated "fake news."
He also claimed that images showing "250,000" Iranians at a rally to support new Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei were "totally AI generated" and that the event "never took place."
People have been taking part in rallies en massed across Iran since war started to show support for the country in the face of the imposed unprovoked war and pledge allegiance to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
Many media organizations, including Western ones, have run news photos showing the rallies in the capital Tehran after Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was named leader.
Qatar's foreign ministry has described the strikes on Ras Laffan as a "flagrant violation" of the state's sovereignty, adding that it would not hesitate to respond to attacks on its security and sovereignty.
In a statement, it said Qatar has sought to distance itself from the war, "the Iranian side persists in targeting it and neighbouring countries, pursuing an irresponsible approach that undermines regional security and threatens international peace".
Qatar has "repeatedly called for the necessity of refraining from targeting civilian facilities and energy infrastructure", including in Iran, the statement continued. But Iran has pursued escalatory politics that "are pushing the region towards the abyss".
12bytes: Well, kick the US out of your shitty little island and then you can go back to snorting coke from the ass cracks of 17 yr. old girls on your yachts. Problem solved. Iran told you it would do this if the US/Israel targeted their energy infrastructure, so it's your fault for allowing terrorist to inhabit your island.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is bracing for potential nuclear fallout from the escalating US-Israeli war on Iran, and warns that the outcome would be catastrophic no matter how many precautions are taken.
[...]
The US has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. Israel, though it has never publicly admitted it, is the only nuclear power in the Middle East. Iran may have nuclear ambitions, but has not enriched its uranium to bomb-making levels, according to the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi told reporters that the strike on Iran's Bushehr nuclear site did not hit the actual power plant but landed on the premises, not causing any "very significant" damage.
"The reactors have not been affected and there are no casualties," Grossi reported, but added that the IAEA had not independently confirmed the damage.
Nevertheless, he emphasised that "any attack on any nuclear facility should always be avoided".
Six decades later, US warplanes and missiles are striking Iran while an undeclared Israeli nuclear arsenal sits outside any treaty framework and outside any meaningful inspection regime. Iran, a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and subject to some of the most intrusive inspections ever imposed on a state, is presented as the existential nuclear threat. Israel, which stonewalls on Dimona to this day, is wrapped in euphemism and strategic silence. The inversion is not an accident. It is the logical outcome of a relationship Komer already recognised as structurally lopsided, with Washington dragged step by step from uneasy sponsor to unconditional accomplice.
John Joseph Mearsheimer is an American political scientist and international relations scholar. He is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago.
Sixteen days into the American-Israeli war on Iran, the battlefield tells a story that Pentagon planners had not anticipated. Tehran's streets remain filled with defiant crowds, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for US-linked ships, and the US military bases in the region smolder.
Patricia Marins, an independent defense analyst based in Brazil, has been following the war unfold with a keen eye on the shifting strategic balance.
In an interview with the Press TV website, Marins said she has been witnessing the emergence of something the region has never quite witnessed before: the "Iranian model" of warfare proving itself against the world's most powerful military.
The tiny jewel wasp injects a neurotoxic venom into the ganglia of cockroaches, transforming the larger insect into a zombie which willingly allows itself to be transformed into a living host for the next generation of jewel wasps to feed on before emerging into the world, ready to prey on other unsuspecting cockroaches. Israel is the modern-day equivalent of the jewel wasp, a predator which infects its host with mind-altering poison so that it willingly sustains the parasitic intrusion into its being that will eventually take its life.
In this powerful and deeply personal interview, USS Liberty survivor Phil Tourney is joined by fellow crew members, including Mo Schaefer and others who were present during the tragic events of June 8, 1967.
During the Six-Day War, the USS Liberty, a United States Navy intelligence ship, was attacked in international waters, leaving 34 American servicemen dead and 174 wounded. Decades later, survivors continue to speak out about what they witnessed - and what they believe has never been fully told.
This interview brings firsthand testimony from the men who lived through the attack, offering insight into one of the most controversial and debated incidents in U.S. naval history.
Their voices matter. Their memories remain. And their message is clear - we remember, and we will not forget.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testifies at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats.
12bytes: I listened to about as much as i could before i was interrupted by an impulsive and sustained need to vomit. In less than 2 years, Tulsi Gabbard transitioned from an intelligent and reasonably well informed (sans her stance on 'The Virus'), anti-war Congress woman to a disgusting Zionist whore repeating the same garbage that spews out of Trump's ass regarding Iran. Key points:
Russia, N. Korea form closer bond (during US proxy war with Russia - she didn't say that out loud obviously)
Russia, China have weapons the US can't counter, hypersonic missiles, etc., Iran's advanced missiles/drones not mentioned
Iran is largely kaput all around, depleted missile stockpiles - LOL
Iran killed thousands of protesters earlier this year, neglects to mention that the limited anti-government protests were peaceful until CIA/Mossad stepped in, cranked up the heat and started shooting people, including police, thus forcing the government to step in and quell the riots
Iran regime is intact, but weakened - maybe so, but their resolve isn't
Iran refused to comply with IAEA after 12 day war, neglects to mention that IAEA was passing sensitive information to Israel/US that was likely used to target nuclear sites and scientists because, you know, we had to stop Iran from building 'The Bomb' that they had no intention of building ... i'll bet they might reevaluate that now however
Post briefing...
General Adams, with 3 make-pretend stars, comments that US/Israel "Iron dome" is "very, very effective" - apparently there wasn't a live feed of Tel Avi in the room
Congress critter states that US is safer than ever and i wholeheartedly i agree! I was having nightmares about those Iranian school girls blowing my town to smithereens, not to mention the girls' soccer team!
Reading between the lines...
it's clear that the US is isolating itself from the rest of the world, "potential adversaries" everywhere - i wonder why?
US troubles are everyone else's fault - we din-do-nufin to provoke anyone, obviously
lack of passion in Gabbard's voice, sounds almost depressed
Some folks think Tulsi will, or ought to resign. After the disgusting performance i saw her give here, i doubt that's gonna happen.
Swarm Forge. Ender's Foundry. Project Grant. Open Arsenal. These are the names of just some of the "Pace-Setting Projects" that Pete Hegseth identified in a January memorandum on the "Artificial Intelligence Strategy for the Department of War." Their names are as hard to take seriously as "Operation Epic Fury," but like the war, the Pentagon's AI initiatives are already having a significant impact on the world. AI systems were reportedly used to select targets for more than 1,000 attacks in the first days of the war on Iran. It's investing heavily in targeting systems, data collection and analysis, and even autonomous weapons that can take instructions and then independently engage in missions, destroying and killing without immediate human feedback.
Private companies won't be left out of it, either: the Pentagon plans to "leverage the hundreds of billions in private sector capital investment being made in America's AI sector through our growing array of creative partnerships with America's world-leading companies." From Palantir and Anduril to xAI, OpenAI and Google, billions of dollars continue to be spent every year on using AI to "increase lethality" to make the U.S. military even more of a threat around the world.
12bytes: Listen to what Tucker says in this short clip. I'm not sure he's right about the targeting of the school, but he's generally right, however i'm not sure he fully understands why.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested "finishing off" what is left of the "Iranian Terror State" and urged countries relying on the Strait of Hormuz to take responsibility, criticizing "non-responsive" allies, Anadolu reports.
"I wonder what would happen if we 'finished off' what's left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don't, be responsible for the so called 'Straight?' That would get some of our non-responsive 'Allies' in gear, and fast!!!," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
12bytes: Mmm k. Are we looking for an exit ramp here? No Marines? Or are we still trying to get China to open the "so called Straight" that we don't use and he can't spell? Okay, let's note the time here ... it's 2:49:59 PM. Now let's see what he says at 3:05 PM.
After the War Department and the White House declared victory in the first days of the conflagration, Trump announced on March 14 that 5,000 additional naval and ground forces were being shipped to the West Asia region. There was no specific announcement on when they would attempt to seize control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The questions raised regarding where these troops will be deployed remain unanswered. If they are deployed in or near the existing bases in the Persian Gulf monarchies these territories will become even more of a target by the IRGC and the resistance. If they attempt to bolster the existing U.S. military presence in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria, this could prompt further attacks on Washington's interests in Iraq. There were reports of an attack on the U.S. embassy inside the country which was subjected to a genocidal war of destabilization, invasions and occupations.
12bytes: By the way, those US bases in the Gulf? They don't have any bunkers apparently.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is unlikely to end its military operation against Iran in the near future due to the instability surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing officials.
A missile strike just meters from an operational Iranian nuclear reactor shows "flagrant disregard" for international safety principles, Russia's nuclear corporation, Rosatom, which helped build the plant and whose personnel still work at the facility, has warned.
A senior Israeli official said that the attacks on the largest natural gas site in Iran was carried out in with US approval and coordination, according to Israeli journalist Barak Ravid.
On his Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump posted after the strike: "Remember, for all of those absolute 'fools' out there, Iran is considered, by everyone, to be the NUMBER ONE STATE SPONSOR OF TERROR. We are rapidly putting them out of business!"
Oil prices have leapt to more than $108 a barrel following the strike - a rise of 5 percent since Tuesday, and nearly 6 percent in the UK.
12bytes: Hmmm. Funny how Trumpstein has to keep reminding us that Iran is the "NUMBER ONE STATE SPONSOR OF TERROR". It's almost like people might be starting to see past that.
American-Israeli strikes hit gas storage tanks at Iran's South Pars field in the southern Iranian city of Asaluyeh on March 18, halting production at two refineries with a combined capacity of about 100 million cubic meters per day, Iranian media reported.
The South Pars field is the world's largest natural gas reservoir, supplying approximately 70% of Iran's domestic gas and holding nearly 8% of the world's total reserves.
Loud explosions were heard across multiple refinery sites in Asaluyeh following the attack, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency, which said that several gas storage tanks and parts of the refinery infrastructure were targeted across different operational phases, including units three, four, five, and six.
The news agency added that employees were evacuated to safe areas, while firefighting and rescue teams were working to contain blazes triggered by the strike.
[...]
Iran's state television later published a threat, saying that the Islamic Republic will be attacking oil and gas infrastructure in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The threats targeted Saudi Arabia's Samref Refinery and its Jubail Petrochemical Complex. It also threatened the UAE's Al Hasan Gas Field and the petrochemical plants and a refinery in Qatar.
12bytes: Oh, this is gonna be fun! There goes the gas and oil industry. Someone (Iran?) projected $300/barrel oil. You think it's expensive now??? Ha! And remember, nearly everything is either made with petroleum, packaged in plastic (petroleum), and transported with petroleum (gas/diesel). Look forward to higher prices on everything from dildo's to groceries.
Fars News Agency reports that Iran intends to respond to strikes on its gas faculties by targeting "enemy infrastructure that was previously thought to be safe", citing Iranian military sources.
The Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has posted an "urgent warning" for people to evacuate five energy facilities in the Gulf.
Its targets include: the Samref refinery, the al-Jubail petrochemical complex and Masaiid Holding Company in Saudi Arabia, the al-Hosn gas field in the United Arab Emirates and the Ras Laffan refinery in Qatar.
The statement has said that "these centres have become direct and legitimate targets and will be targeted in the coming hours", calling the attack on their gas faculty by Israel a "war crime".
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran struck all US military bases located in the Middle East during the latest attack, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday.
"Over the past few hours, a series of powerful attacks have been carried out by the armed forces as part of the 62nd phase of Operation True Promise 4, targeting all US bases in the region, as well as assembly points and combat support centers of the Zionists," the IRGC was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency Fars.
The IRGC added that it had struck the cities of Tel Aviv, Beersheba, Haifa and Acre in Israel, as well as US bases Ali Al-Salem, Al-Udeiri and Arifjan in Kuwait, Victoria in Iraq, Al-Udeid in Qatar, Al-Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates and Al-Azraq in Jordan, and the Fifth Fleet of the US Navy, which is located in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
Iranian authorities have announced hundreds more arrests across the country, as well as operations to counter what they describe as "traitors" aligned with the interests of the United States and Israel.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears to have little patience for questions that do not conform to his preferred style of declaring unsubstantiated victories, whether against South Americans or in the Middle East.
In a charged press conference on March 13, Hegseth did more than attack journalists for questioning his unverified claims about the course of the war in the Middle East. He singled out CNN, introducing a troubling dimension to the conversation. "The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better," he said.
Ellison, a close ally of President Donald Trump and a strong supporter of Israel, is widely considered the frontrunner to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company that owns CNN.
On Saturday night, as the war on Iran entered its third week, a small group of Israelis assembled in central Jerusalem.
"One, two, three four, we don't want your fucking war," chanted protesters, some dressed in orange jumpsuits and donning masks bearing the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Earlier that day, a protest with similar aims had been held in Tel Aviv. Neither demonstration gathered more than a hundred people.
12bytes: Good! I wouldn't want to see these anti-war protests have any political effect before the blood of the Zionists begins running in the streets. Fuck Israel. Flatten the place.
We are on Day 18 of the illegal war of aggression waged against Iran by the U.S. and Israel, and Iran continues to fight back. With nearly 60 waves of retaliatory attacks, Iran has caused massive damage to U.S. Military sites, radar systems, refueling tankers and beyond... and President Trump is learning the hard way that there is no easy off-ramp in this war he chose to wage.
Col. Larry Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to the U.S. Secretary of State, noted that Iran is likely saving its most dangerous weapons - its hypersonic ballistic missiles - for the end of this war, and that the U.S. and Israel are not remotely prepared for a prolonged conflict, as they are already running low on interceptor missiles... and Israel is becoming more of a "pariah," in the eyes of the region, than ever before.
Nato allies are discussing how they can get the Strait of Hormuz reopened, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters during a visit to Norway.
"We all agree, of course, that trade has to open up again. And what I know is that allies are working together, discussing how to do that. They're working on that collectively, to find a way forward," Rutte said.
This comes after comments from French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that France will never take part in operations to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
12bytes: Ya know, back in the 60's or 70's the hippies all got together to meditate and lift the Pentagon into the air in protest of the Vietnam war. Maybe NATO could try something like that, like meditate the mines out of the water, meditate the missiles and drone boats out of their tunnels and meditate the Iranians to Mars, which i'm not entirely sure is far enough given what's been done to them.
Sixteen Tunisian organisations have called for the immediate release of activists detained in connection with the "Sumud Flotilla", an initiative aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
In a joint statement titled "Supporting the Palestinian cause is not a crime!", the organisations condemned the arrests and urged authorities to halt all legal proceedings against those detained.
12bytes: Now see, that's where they're wrong! It IS a crime to do anything 'gods chosen people' disapprove of. Read the Talmud you dingbated goy.
Brazil monitoring 37 companies, including Canonical, Valve, & more. System76 bans users for asking about age verification. Rockstar Games & Arch Linux 32 restrict access in Brazil.
More than 80 human rights and sport advocacy groups have called on the International Olympic Committee to abandon reported plans to introduce universal genetic sex testing for female athletes and impose a blanket ban on transgender and intersex competitors.
12bytes: Jews. That's exactly where this transgender, non-binary, LGTBQABCD crap stems from. Every human being has an inherent right to live their lives as they choose, so long as they're not harming others, but promoting degenerate lifestyles is another matter and it is the Jews and their brain-dead minions that are behind it all. Don't believe me? Read...
The director of the US Counterterrorism center, Joe Kent, a protege of the head of the national intelligence office, Tulsi Gabbard, is resigning, accusing the Israeli lobby of provoking a war with Iran. Moreover, Kent is a retired green beret who served in the US Army for 20 years.
He knows about the war firsthand, unlike many couch hawks like Ben Shapiro or Mark Levin, who actively advocate for continued escalation. Kent also served as a military officer seconded to the CIA. By the way, Langley is also trying not to get directly involved in the adventure in Iran. They left everything to Pete Hegseth.
Tulsi Gabbard is also sabotaging the war with Iran, she recently released a joint report with the CIA stating that one should not wait for regime change in Tehran. American intelligence officials claim that they warned Trump in advance about the risks of escalation. But he didn't want to listen to anyone.
Meanwhile, apparatchiks leaving the Pentagon who are unhappy with Hegseth's militaristic attitude are beginning to cluster around Gabbard. In fact, we are now witnessing a real war of hawks and isolationists in the Trump team against the background of the chaos in which they are stuck.
Diesel prices in the United States jumped by 40% and exceeded five dollars per gallon for the first time since 2022. There are troubles with American aircraft carriers, they are unlikely to be able to conduct a campaign for a long time. It is not possible to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, Europe and China refused to help Trump. The first dismissals and resignations began. Whether it will still be if the war with Iran lasts until April. Then a lot of people will run away from the sinking ship.
Compared with the last six lengthy U.S. aggressive wars - Korea, Vietnam, Iraq 1991, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq 2003 - this potential "forever war" against Iran has the most opposition at home. The war against Iran opened with U.S. bombs and rockets killing over 150 schoolgirls in the city of Minab and Israel assassinating Iran's supreme political and religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamanei on Feb. 28.
Before unleashing the conflagration, the MAGA regime made no effort to win support for the aggression, neither among the people nor Congress nor by adding international allies beyond the genocidal criminals running the Israeli settler state. The regime counted on the decades-long Big Lies demonizing Iran.
[...]
A 2017 book on GI resistance discusses how the U.S. can't field a ground army big enough to conquer the Global South without breeding opposition at home and resistance among the troops. It gives examples of U.S. wars of aggression that may lead to a soldier's rebellion: one the U.S. starts with "Russia, China, or even Iran or the [Democratic People's Republic of Korea]," or if "the president orders federal troops to break workers' strikes or repress rebellions in communities of color inside the United States." ("Turn the Guns Around: Mutinies, Soldier Revolts and Revolutions," last chapter.)
And that's exactly today's scenario, from Tehran to Minneapolis.
[...]
There is already evidence that the Pentagon has recorded casualties far beyond the seven U.S. troops officially admitted as dying in combat. That the U.S. military's major hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, has already canceled labor and delivery health care (Military Times, March 5) shows that the Pentagon anticipates much heavier U.S. casualties.
Antiwar veterans organizations, like Veterans For Peace and others, have reached out to active-duty troops offering support for conscientious objectors. A leader of the Center on Conscience and War said their phones have been ringing off the hook since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began.
An announcement a few months ago by six Congressional Democrats that troops have the duty to disobey illegal orders has already spread in the ranks of soldiers. Whatever the motives of these elected representatives, who are all veterans of the military or CIA, no one can put that genie back in the bottle.
The MAGA warmongers may find out that their aggression against Iran has only accelerated the decline of U.S. imperialism.
A senior Iranian intelligence official, speaking exclusively to a Press TV correspondent, has revealed detailed estimates of damage inflicted on the American military in the region during the first seven days of the ongoing war.
According to the official, extra-regional sources provided Iran with a comprehensive assessment of American losses - both human and material losses from the Iranian retaliatory military operations since February 28.
The main finding indicates a critical depletion of air defense stockpiles for both the United States and the Israeli regime, a development described as "very serious" by the official.
The intelligence further details substantial casualties, reporting that at least 200 US military personnel were killed, with over 3,000 wounded in the first week itself.
The material losses outlined are equally significant.
The official said the US lost 150 missile launch platforms and 23 Patriot air defense systems. A total of 37 aircraft and helicopters were also destroyed.
The report also noted that 43 percent of US weapons stockpiles have been obliterated.
The war against the Islamic Republic started on February 28 with the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and some top-ranking military commanders in a cowardly act of aggression.
In the same initial wave, nearly 170 schoolchildren were also martyred after an elementary school in southern Iran was deliberately targeted by the US-Israeli war coalition.
In retaliation, Iranian armed forces have thus far carried out 58 waves of Operation True Promise 4, pounding Israeli military sites in the occupied territories and US military bases across the region.
US President Donald Trump speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday dismissed concerns that a land invasion could trap the United States in another protracted war.
When asked if he's afraid that it could be another Vietnam, Trump said "no" adding "I'm not afraid of anything."
"America's treatment of NATO has undermined America's standing not just globally, but particularly among America's traditional allies," Kamrava says. "It speaks volumes that they are refusing to involve themselves in America's war against Iran."
Donald Trump commented on his position towards the North Atlantic Alliance during a meeting at the White House with Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin. The American president noted that at the moment he has no intentions of withdrawing the United States from the bloc.
"I don't have such thoughts in my mind at the moment," Trump said.
Then the US president turned to criticizing the organization.
"I am disappointed with NATO, we have spent many trillions of dollars on NATO over the years," the head of the White House added.
12bytes: Like Nickolson said, "well, we'll just see about that".
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced early on March 18 that it had successfully employed multiple "5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions" on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran's coastline near the Strait of Hormuz.
The sites contained anti-ship cruise missiles which "posed a risk to international shipping in the strait," the command said in a post to X, without elaborating.
A US-Israeli strike on the city of Dorud in Iran's Lorestan province killed seven people and wounded 56, according to a provincial official cited by Tasnim news agency.
The attack reportedly hit residential and densely populated civilian areas.
Earlier, authorities said four people were killed in a separate strike on rural areas in the Chegeni region of the same province.
A high-ranking member of Iran's Expediency Council says the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will remain in effect, adding that the United States is responsible for escalating insecurity in the West Asian region.
Mohsen Rezaei, a former IRGC commander, made the remarks on Saturday as he addressed participants at a mass funeral procession in the Iranian capital Tehran for the late secretary of the Supreme National Defense Council Admiral Ali Shamkhani, who was assassinated in a US-Israeli strike on February 28.
He emphasized that the strategic waterway will remain shut, and no US warship is allowed to enter Persian Gulf waters.
Iranian armed forces and resistance groups across the region continue to carry out retaliatory military operations against the United States and the Israeli regime.
On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Army conducted multiple operations as part of Operation True Promise 4, which was launched immediately after the US-Israeli coalition carried out an unprovoked act of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 28.
OCCUPIED QUDS, March 17 (YPA) - Hebrew media outlets reported on Tuesday that rocket barrages were launched from Iran targeting the "Greater Tel Aviv" area and central "Israel."
The attack triggered sirens in several cities, including Ashdod, resulting in multiple casualties and significant material damage.
According to field reports, heavy explosions were heard in the Jaffa and Tel Aviv areas due to falling missile fragments. Projectiles were also recorded hitting the "Rishon LeZion" settlement and the vicinity of Ben Gurion Airport in the Lod area.
The Israeli Ministry of Health announced that 142 injured individuals were transported to hospitals over the past 24 hours due to the shelling. A building in the "Shoham" area sustained a direct hit, with impacts identified across approximately 10 different locations. Areas surrounding Ben Gurion Airport were affected by falling submunitions and debris.
This bombardment comes amid a wave of mutual escalation in the region. Iran continues to target Israeli sites and regional US bases in response to recent military operations, as international observers warn of the conflict spiraling into a broader regional confrontation.
Iran's naval forces have successfully struck key targets within American bases, including Al Dhafra, Sheikh Isa, and Al-Udeid, following the US-Israeli aggression against the country.
Commander of the IRGC Navy Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri wrote in a post on his X account on Saturday that US Patriot radar systems, control towers, aircraft hangars, central ramps, and aircraft fuel depots were among the facilities that were struck.
The IRGC public relations also said in a statement that Iranian missile and drone units struck the Patriot radars, control tower, and air defense hangars of the Al Dhafra base with devastating kamikaze drones and pinpoint ballistic missiles.
The Sheikh Isa base's early warning radars, aircraft hangars, central ramps, and American aircraft fuel depots were destroyed and set ablaze, it said.
According to the statement, at the Al-Udairi helicopter base, equipment hangars, gathering sites, and helicopter maintenance hangars were destroyed.
Furthermore, it said the Strait of Hormuz is under the full control of the IRGC Navy. The passage of tankers and commercial vessels belonging to aggressors and their allies through the strategic waterway remains prohibited. Any movement or transit will be targeted.
Simultaneously, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army reported launching drone attacks against spy and cyber units of the Israeli regime.
Starting from early this morning, and in continuation of yesterday's operations, key Israeli cyber intelligence units, including the Aman intelligence organization, Cyber Operations Unit 8200, and data processing centers, were targeted.
"The assembly point for several Israeli fighter jets in occupied territories was also reportedly hit," it said.
Unit 8200 is responsible for gathering signals intelligence, intercepting digital communications, and conducting offensive cyber operations. Aman is described as a component of the Israeli intelligence structure, it added.
The Army further stated that drone attacks on the occupied territories are ongoing.
TEHRAN (Sputnik) - The Iranian military plans to deploy previously unused weaponry in its operation against the United States and Israel, Iranian army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said on Wednesday.
"In the coming days, we will use weapons that we have not used before," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by SNN broadcaster.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on March 17 that it used a new "Haj Qasem" ballistic missile for the first time in a fresh wave of attacks against Israel, describing it as an advanced precision-guided weapon.
The strikes targeted sites in the cities of Beit Shemesh, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem in the center of Israel, according to Tansim News Agency, which cited a statement by the IRGC.
The guards also said the barrage hit United States military bases in the Middle East, including facilities in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq.
Drones and several other ballistic missiles, including the Ghadr, Emad, and Fattah models, were also used in the strikes, per the IRGC.
Haj Qasem is named after the IRGC's Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the U.S. in Iraq more than six years ago. It is a medium-range ballistic missile with a solid-fueled, two-stage system. The missile range is reported to be up to 1,400 kilometers with a warhead weighing 500 kg.
At least eight salvos of missiles targeted Israel during the day, with warning sirens sending in the north, center and south of the country, sending millions into shelters. Multiple impacts were reported, some in the center were attributed to submunitions from missiles armed with cluster warheads. Still, there were no casualties, at least according to Hebrew media.
Early on March 18, an additional salvo of missiles was launched at Israel. Missiles armed with cluster warheads were also used, and multiple impacts were reported in the center of the country, mainly in Tel Aviv. Hebrew media reported causalities this time, with some reports indicating that at least two were killed.
On Sunday, Tehran launched the two-stage solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) against US and Israeli positions during the 54th wave of Operation True Promise 4.
Nicknamed the "dancing missile" for its unpredictable flight path, the Sejjil is designed to do one thing: bypass multi-layered air defenses. Here's what makes it so dangerous:
The Core Threat
Range: Roughly 2,000 km (enough to hit any target in Israel from inside Iran).
Warhead: 500-1,000 kg payload.
Launch platform: road-mobile transporters
Killer feature: solid fuel
Unlike old liquid-fuel rockets, it doesn't need minutes of vulnerable fueling time. It can sit ready, launch in seconds, and move before satellites can spot it. This capability dramatically improves survivability and rapid response, which is why the Sejjil family is widely seen as a major step forward in Iran's missile program.
Versions
The Sejjil-1 (2008) was the system's first generation and marked Iran's entry into large solid-fuel MRBMs.
The Sejjil-2 followed soon after and introduced several upgrades: GPS/Inertial guidance (accuracy within 50m) and high re-entry speed, making it a nightmare for systems like the Arrow-3 or Iron Dome. The missile was tested in 2009 and is widely believed to be the main deployed version of the system today.
Sejjil-3 (in development): A rumored three-stage version that could extend the range to 4,000 km, threatening targets far beyond the Middle East.
The Sejjil family is designed for one purpose: saturation. By using solid fuel and mobile launchers, Iran can overwhelm Israeli defenses with a rapid volley that is nearly impossible to stop once in the air.
IRAQ, March 18 (YPA) - The Islamic Resistance in Iraq announced that it carried out 47 military operations on Tuesday, targeting bases belonging to the US occupation forces in Iraq and the region.
The Iraqi resistance explained in a statement that the operations were carried out using dozens of drones and missiles, as part of escalating attacks against the foreign military presence.
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence says its air defences intercepted 13 Iranian ballistic missiles and 27 drones on Wednesday.
Since the start of the Israeli-US war and the retalitory Iranian attacks, the ministry says it has engaged 327 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,699 drones.
Saraya Awliya al-Dam, one of the leading Iran-aligned armed factions in Iraq, on March 17 shared video footage showing a first-person view (FPV) quadcopter drone wondering within the United States embassy compound in the highly-secured Green Zone of the capital, Baghdad, highlighting a new threat to American forces in the country.
The faction said that the FPV quadcopter was on a "reconnaissance" mission, and this is likely current as no fuse or detonation mechanism is seen installed on the drone in the footage.
The Saraya Awliya al-Dam is a faction of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), which has been launching attacks against American forces in Iraq and neighboring countries since the start of the American-Israeli war on Iran.
[...]
Systems protecting the U.S. embassy and American forces deployment sites, like the FS-LIDS, could be easily taken out by FPV quadcopters, which would open the way for attacks with larger fixed-wing suicide drones, or even unguided artillery rockets and guided missiles.
12bytes: It can't get much sillier .... actually, i'm sure it CAN get sillier. There's no 'U' in BRICS dumb ass.
The administration of American leader Donald Trump believes that encouraging Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine, its economic growth and the influx of American investment ultimately pursue a strategic goal of countering the United States against China.
"A representative of the Trump administration, who wished to remain anonymous... He said that the search for "a way to get closer to Russia" could create "a different balance of power with China, which could be very, very beneficial," writes Politico.
Keyvani's death sentence, following the completion of his trial for allegedly transmitting images and information regarding strategic locations to Mossad, had been approved by the Supreme Court, the statement said.
Keyvani was arrested on the fourth day of a 12-day war that broke out in June last year, when the US and Israel attacked Iran.
LONDON, March 18 (YPA) - British Airways has announced the cancellation of all flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai, Bahrain, and Amman until at least May 31, citing "ongoing uncertainty" and "airspace instability" across the Middle East.
[...]
The suspension follows a strategic review of the carrier's regional operations. In addition to the primary cancellations, flights to Doha remain suspended until the end of April, while services to Abu Dhabi have been cancelled until further notice for the remainder of the year. The airline attributed these measures to the volatile security situation currently impacting Gulf and Middle Eastern flight corridors.
British Airways is not alone in its cautious approach. The German Lufthansa Group-including its subsidiaries Austrian Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings-confirmed it will not resume flights to Tel Aviv until at least April 2.
12bytes: Far as i can tell, Iran is pretty much telling the truth here. It's war, so there's going to be civilians killed as a result collateral damage, but the number of civilians killed by direct Iranian missile/drone strikes seems to be very small, whereas "collateral damage" for Israel and the US means purposely targeting civilians, including school children, their mothers, their homes, their hospitals and entire city blocks.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Tehran does not strike civilian targets in neighboring countries, it responds to the United States by attacking its bases in the Middle East, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday.
"I can say with confidence that we have not attacked civilian targets in neighboring countries," Araghchi said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
Somewhere along the way, we have seen the rationale for the existence of the state of Israel transition from reliance on western guilt and being a safe haven for Jews after the attempted destruction of Jewish communities in Europe, to the violent biblical rhetoric now deployed across the spectrum.
From marauding settlers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and even the leader of the purported "opposition", Yair Lapid, to US Ambassador Mike Huckabee and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, replete with his "kafir" and "deus vult" tattoos, we hear about Amalek, the Third Temple, and God's promises to the "chosen people".
The recently televised split-screen on al-Quds Day in Iran showed Hegseth on the left, fulminating about Iranian leadership: "Desperate and hiding, they have gone underground, cowering. That is what rats do."
On the right, we could observe President Masoud Pezeshkian and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, who was assassinated by US-Israel on Tuesday, along with other leading officials, mingling with crowds in Tehran, greeting people and having selfies taken along the way, with smoke from explosions ascending in the background.
Most worrisome is that Hegseth, like most Israelis who have been brainwashed to take their edifice of lies as gospel truth, is all too ready to mock the "stupid rules of engagement", declaring that Iranians under joint US-Israeli attack would receive "no quarter, no mercy".
Trump is flailing about. They dropped some big bombs on the shoreline of the Strait of Hormuz today. 5000lbs sounds impressive. He is going after the land batteries. Look at a map. The Strait of Hormuz is about as long as Vietnam and you are trying to bomb things the size of a gun or width of a speed boat. They are also doing so blind as they have lost their radar and can't tell decoys from real McCoys.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin had instructed officials to study the possibility of shifting Russian oil and gas flows away from European buyers.
Joe Kent resigned today as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the top U.S. government post responsible for integrating and analyzing terrorism-related intelligence because of his opposition to the war in Iran. Let's hear it for the boy!!! Before taking this job, Joe served as a Army Ranger, as a Green Beret, as a member of a Top Secret special access program Army Intelligence unit and served with the CIA's Special Operations Division. The man had 11 combat deployments and was awarded SIX bronze stars. And the despicable, loathsome Donald Trump had the audacity to call this man "weak" on security matters.
Contrary to the smears being spread by the Trump sycophants about Joe Kent, Joe was the man in the intelligence community who had the most knowledge of terrorist threats and terrorist activities confronting the US. When he wrote in his resignation letter that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States, he was not offering up a personal opinion... That is what the intelligence shows.
[...]
I was hoping that his boss, Tulsi Gabbard, would follow suit. She did not. She revealed herself to be a spineless, gutless pretender who previously insisted she opposed such reckless military actions as attacking Iran. I was wondering why she caved until I saw the photo at the top of this article. A picture is worth a thousand words... The picture above of Miriam Adelson, Tulsi Gabbard and the degenerate Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, means that Tulsi has sold out to the Zionists.
Analysis of escalating Iran-Israel-US tensions: alleged targeted killings, psychological warfare, and Iran's asymmetrical strategy with underground infrastructure and decentralized command. Examines shifting Israeli media narratives, Iranian public resilience amid attacks, and US political anxiety over war costs and midterm elections. Iran's control of Hormuz Strait impacts global energy markets; China remains largely unaffected while European allies show reluctance to join US-led coalition. Iran's strategic objectives: end cycles of conflict, lift sanctions, remove US bases from region, establish Gulf security architecture. Discussion covers escalation risks including nuclear dimensions and undisclosed Iranian capabilities. Key insights on why conventional military approaches struggle against asymmetrical warfare doctrines, and how economic pressure and logistics shape modern conflict outcomes.
Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired Colonel in the US Army and the former Chief of Staff to the US Secretary of State. Colonel Wilkerson discusses why the coming defeat of the US will reshape the great power rivalry.
Discussion covers a senior counterterrorism official's resignation protesting the Iran war, citing no imminent threat and questioning the conflict's motives. Analysis explores disputed casualty reports, European allies' reluctance to engage militarily, and Iran's strategic leverage in the Strait of Hormuz. Topics include Israel's defensive challenges amid coordinated attacks, concerns about potential nuclear escalation, and criticism of administration messaging on war progress. The conversation examines shifting global economic warfare dynamics, Iran's domestic resilience and regional capabilities, and broader geopolitical implications of U.S. foreign policy decisions. Speakers debate the credibility of official narratives, the risk of miscalculation in an increasingly multipolar world, and whether current strategies serve long-term American interests or accelerate international isolation.
Analysis of the ongoing regional conflict highlights Iran's sophisticated state structures that function independently of individual leaders, ensuring strategic continuity despite targeted strikes. Coordinated responses continue across the region as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed as a deterrent warning to Gulf states hosting foreign military assets. A senior US counter-terrorism official's resignation signals internal dissent over the war's justification. Public mobilization in Iran persists under fire, challenging Western media narratives. The Axis of Resistance maintains operations while assessments point to escalating political and economic costs for continued aggression. Discussion covers potential escalation scenarios, regional complicity, Israel's vulnerabilities, and evolving global perceptions as diplomatic channels remain inactive amid contradictory statements from involved powers.
12bytes: This woman is amazing. She's on war path with her 'battle bun' and exposing a lot of criminal in the process. Her coverage of Charlie Kirk, a former close friend of hers, and his narcissistic wife is well worth watching.
Joe Kent resigns as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Theo Von announces to his audience that he feels something satanic is going on, and Turning Point USA suffers a major blow after an Arkansas chapter disaffiliates from them.
12bytes: Syrian President Ahmed Shara is a well known former al-Qaeda terrorist who was involved in cutting the heads off of children. Now he's Trump's boy, having met with him several times. Amazing what the CIA/Mossad can do, eh?
The administration of Donald Trump is putting pressure on Syria to send troops into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah. However, Damascus is reluctant to take part, fearing it could be drawn into a wider conflict and inflame sectarian tensions, Reuters reported.
In a report published on Tuesday, Reuters cited informed sources as saying the proposal had been presented to the Syrian government as part of efforts to disarm Hezbollah. The group joined the war against Iran on 2 March by targeting Israeli sites.
Sources, including two Syrian officials and two people familiar with the discussions, said the idea was first raised between US and Syrian officials last year.
Speaking during a briefing to members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the State of Palestine on Tuesday, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin warned that Israel is accelerating policies aimed at expanding illegal settlements and imposing permanent control over Palestinian land.
She said Israeli authorities are taking advantage of the international community's focus on regional crises to advance annexation efforts through settlement expansion and legislative and administrative measures.
Over that that period, more than 36,000 Palestinians were displaced. The report recorded 1,732 incidents of settler violence that caused casualties or property destruction, up from 1,400 in the previous reporting period - an increase of nearly 25 percent.
The attacks included sustained harassment, intimidation and the destruction of Palestinian homes, farmland and livelihoods.
"Settler violence continued in a coordinated, strategic and largely unchallenged manner, with Israeli authorities playing the central role in directing, participating in or enabling this conduct," the report said, making it difficult to distinguish between state and settler violence.
Longstanding and pervasive impunity is "facilitating and encouraging violence against and harassment of Palestinians", it added.
Several central neighbourhoods in Beirut have been attacked in a series of Israeli strikes. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr has been at the scene of one attack that flattened a multi-storey residential building.
Lebanon's health ministry has reported that Israeli strikes have killed at least 111 children and wounded 334 since 2 March, when Israel expanded its attacks on Lebanon. The toll averages nearly 30 children killed or injured each day.
"That's a classroom of children every day since the beginning of the war that's either killed or injured in Lebanon," Unicef deputy executive director, Ted Chaiban, said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 900 people in Lebanon since 2 March, Lebanese data shows, while sweeping evacuation orders have forced over one million people from their homes. Among them are roughly 350,000 children.
When the Lebanese speak of Dahiyeh, they do not mean any suburb of their capital city. They mean southern Beirut in particular - a dense belt of neighbourhoods that grew from villages, fields, informal housing and municipal edges into a major extension of the city.
Dahiyeh - in size nearly as big as municipal Beirut - has been shaped by migration and displacement in the past 50 years. While many moved there in search of work or housing, most of the others were pushed there by wars, political unrest, evictions and a general sense of being neglected by the Lebanese state.
We all remember Aaron Russo's story about the inside information that Nicholas Rockefeller shared with him decades ago, including advance warning of 9/11 and the homeland security state. But who was Nicholas Rockefeller? I answered this question to the best of my ability nine years ago, but new information has emerged to confirm what I suspected. You won't believe what's been uncovered...
