03 World

Blurb:

The U.S. military released striking new footage Tuesday showing American forces systematically destroying major elements of Iran’s naval fleet, offering the public a rare look at the scale of the campaign unfolding across the Persian Gulf and nearby waters. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) published the video alongside a statement declaring that the strikes are aimed at dismantling Tehran’s ability to threaten international shipping lanes and destabilize the region.

“U.S. forces are degrading the Iranian regime’s ability to project power at sea and harass international shipping,” CENTCOM said. “For years, Iranian forces have threatened freedom of navigation in waters essential to American, regional and global security and prosperity.”

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Back in 2019, I was excited to report that President Donald Trump had officially launched the “U.S. Space Force,” which would bring the nation’s military space capabilities under one organization.

However, many Democrats, progressives, and Trump-haters derided this development.

The idea was widely mocked when it was first floated, providing fodder for late night hosts, newspaper cartoonists and comedy writers. Senior military officials have previously raised concerns about what it will cost, and former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned against rushing into creating the force without clearly defined goals.

Blurb:

The Trump administration is being urged to tackle imported generic pharmaceuticals, most of which are made in China, due to national security implications.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, wants the Commerce Department to consider using Section 232 national security tariffs on imported generic medicines and their ingredients. Such a move would frame the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain as a national security vulnerability rather than a purely economic issue.

The push comes as policymakers recognize the United States relies heavily on China for key pharmaceutical materials, particularly the raw components of many antibiotics, while producing a small share domestically, China specialist Gordon Chang said.

“Healthcare, as evident in country after country, is best left to the market, but as China weaponizes trade—and continually threatens war—it’s clear that Washington has to temporarily implement non-market solutions to ensure that Americans have access to the medicines they need,” he wrote in a paper published on Conservative Political Action Conference’s website titled “China’s ‘Pharma Death Grip’ on America.”

Blurb:

The United States military has destroyed several Iranian vessels believed to be capable of laying naval mines near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, according to the US central command, as concerns grow around Tehran’s attempt to disrupt shipping in the critical waterway.In a post on X, the United States central command (CENTCOM) said US forces targeted and destroyed multiple Iranian naval vessels on Tuesday. “US forces eliminated multiple Iranian naval vessels, March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz,” the command said, sharing a video showing some of the strikes.The claim followed comments by US president Donald Trump, who earlier said American forces had struck Iranian vessels capable of laying mines in the area. But interestingly, according to Trump 10 vessels were destroyed, contradictory to the military’s claim of 16. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “I am pleased to report that within the last few hours, we have hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine-laying boats and/or ships, with more to follow!”

Blurb:

Speaking with FRANCE 24’s Sharon Gaffney, Elke Schwarz, Professor of Political Theory at Queen Mary University of London, says that there’s “a radical acceleration” in the speed of acquisition of military targets through the use of AI and how quickly action is taken on these targets, which raises concerns about the lack of human oversight, especially considering that AI models have “25 to 50% reliability, which means they are wrong very often”.
from www.france24.com

Blurb:

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth promised Tuesday that the Iran war “is not 2003” and will not look like another nation-building, regime-change war like in Iraq.

Giving an update ten days into the war, Hegseth was joined by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine at the Pentagon.

“This is not 2003. This is not endless nation-building under those types of quagmires we saw under Bush or Obama. It’s not even close,” Hegseth said. “Our generation of soldier will not let that happen again, and nor will this president, who very clearly ran against those kinds of never-ending, nebulously scoped missions — those days are dead.”

Blurb:

Gold Coast, Australia — The Iranian women’s soccer team left Australia minus seven of its members who were granted asylum, after tearful protests of their departure at Sydney Airport and frantic final efforts inside the terminal by Australian officials who sought to ensure the women understood they were being offered asylum.

As the team’s flight time drew nearer and they passed through security late Tuesday, each woman was taken aside to meet alone with officials who explained through interpreters that they could choose not to return to Iran.

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DUBAI: Drones fell near Dubai airport, injuring four people, while ships were hit in or near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday (Mar 11) as Iran kept up its campaign disrupting oil markets and air and maritime traffic.

The oil-rich Gulf has borne the brunt of Iran’s attacks in response to US-Israeli strikes that sparked the Middle East war, with Tehran targeting US assets but also civilian infrastructure.

Iran has also targeted Gulf energy infrastructure and choked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries nearly 20 per cent of global oil production, prompting wild swings in prices.

Blurb:

Iran’s attacks on oil infrastructure and pledges to choke off a vital waterway left markets on edge Tuesday as the United States promised blistering new strikes. The war entered its 11th day with no end in sight as its effects rippled across the Middle East and beyond.

For the first time since the war began, the Pentagon released details on the number of American troops who have been injured, saying eight of the roughly 140 service members wounded are in serious condition.

Both sides sharpened their rhetoric as they dug in, with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth again promising the most intense strikes yet, while Iran’s leaders ruled out talks and threatened U.S. President Donald Trump.

Blurb:

The United States has proposed another round of Russia-Ukraine talks next week, mediated by Washington, on ending four years of war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday.

Two rounds of trilateral talks failed to reach a breakthrough to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II, launched by Moscow in 2022.

Zelensky said in an audio message sent to reporters, including AFP, that talks — initially planned for last week in the United Arab Emirates — had been postponed until next week by the U.S.

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Over the weekend, the U.S. lost a seventh service member to injuries sustained in Operation Epic Fury. That service member has been identified as Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington of Glendale, Kentucky. Pennington was wounded in Iranian strikes in Saudi Arabia.

Vice President Vance boarded Air Force Two to attend the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force base.

He was joined by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

Blurb:

TRUMP: WAR TO CONTINUE ‘UNTIL THEY CRY UNCLE’: As the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran enters its tenth day, President Donald Trump is vowing to do “whatever it takes” to compel complete capitulation from whatever is left of Iran’s leadership.

“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” Trump posted on Truth Social, Friday. “After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.”

By Sunday, Iran had announced that 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — whom Trump had previously declared unacceptable — was named Iran’s next leader.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One Saturday before the new ruler was announced, Trump said the war was going so well, “at some point I don’t think there will be anybody left, maybe to say ‘we surrender.’ They’re being decimated.”

Asked what an “unconditional surrender” would look like, Trump said, “It is where they cry uncle or when they can’t fight any longer.” If there is “nobody around to cry uncle, because we have wiped out their leadership,” Trump said, it means, “they are rendered useless in terms of military.”

Blurb:

To the despair of the European establishment, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), the most hated political force in Germany, keeps showing robust signs of life, whether in its impressive showing in a state election on Sunday or in a recent courtroom victory. On Sunday, the AfD more than doubled its previous vote share for the parliament of Baden-Württemberg, a key industrial state in western Germany. On February 26, a German court enjoined the country’s domestic spy agency from classifying Germany’s second most popular political party as a “confirmed right-wing extremist” organization. The “confirmed right-wing extremist” designation has been a key tool in the campaign among establishment and left-wing politicians to ban the AfD entirely.

The AfD’s fate should not be a matter of indifference to American conservatives. The globalist elites must be broken everywhere if they are to be permanently broken at all.

Growing numbers of the German public defy their overseers and welcome the AfD as an antidote to the EU-Davos philosophy of open borders and the deindustrialization and immiseration that go under the banner of climate-friendly energy policy. The AfD polls second nationally to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The CDU was once the cornerstone of postwar conservatism, but its leaders have pulled it to the left in order to marginalize the AfD. In February 2025, Chancellor (and CDU party head) Friedrich Merz cobbled together an ideologically incoherent governing coalition whose sole purpose is to shut the AfD out of power, despite the AfD’s receiving the second largest share of the German vote. The establishment proudly refers to this exclusionary strategy as the “firewall,” which allegedly protects German democracy from falling into the hands of purported neo-Nazis.

Blurb:

Tokyo stocks plunged Monday, with the Nikkei index losing over 2,800 points and marking the third-largest point drop in history, as crude oil futures surged amid growing prospects of a prolonged Middle East conflict.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 2,892.12 points, or 5.20 percent, from Friday at 52,728.72. The broader Topix index finished 141.09 points, or 3.80 percent, lower at 3,575.84.

On the top-tier Prime Market, the main decliners were nonferrous metal, glass and ceramics product and machinery issues.

The U.S. dollar mostly stayed in the upper 158 yen range in Tokyo amid concerns about the impact of surging crude prices.

At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 158.45-47 yen compared with 157.79-89 yen in New York and 157.52-55 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Friday.

Blurb:

Advanced violence is democratizing.  AI, in conjunction with dramatic improvements in robotics, energy production, and sensors, will increasingly enable ever-smaller groups of people to use targeted violence more effectively, and from a distance. Over time, this shift will dramatically impact all varieties of force projection: state-on-state war, various forms of low-intensity conflict, and how states enforce internal order. 

Perhaps understandably, however, national security discourse about the AI revolution has generally focused on more earth-shattering scenarios: superintelligence, state-to-state conflict, and the prospect of unleashing new biological weapons. These are all critical questions that deserve extensive scrutiny. But super-empowering small groups of people will shift security dynamics in crucial, if less dramatic, ways as well. Non-state actors will use AI-backed tools to conduct relatively simple attacks using increasingly autonomous weapons. In this scenario, it will be the ability of AI-empowered weapons to deliver destruction discriminately, rather than at a catastrophic scale, that will be critical. 

Blurb:

IRAN’S state media has published a warped propaganda video using Lego figures showing targets across the Middle East being blasted.

The unrealistic two-minute clip includes a Lego model of Donald Trump and barrages of missiles blitzing Britain’s RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

The propaganda video depicts Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu as Lego figuresCredit: X
It portrayed made-up claims a famed hotel in Dubai was blown up, when it was actually just hit by debrisCredit: X
The far-fetched clip also exaggerates Britain’s base in Cyprus being hitCredit: X

Shared by Tasnim News Agency, which is controlled by the IRGC, it depicts the US president and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu standing with the Devil before a red button is pressed – triggering strikes on Iran.

The far-fetched propaganda then shows Tehran furiously responding with blitzes across the Middle East – with Lego figures running for their lives.

Blurb:

 

Australia was sending those brave girls to a certain death. Until Trump stepped in.

During Iran’s national anthem at the Asia Cup in Australia, several members of Iran’s women’s soccer team stood silently with hands at their sides—refusing to sing. Subsequently, the women signed “SOS” signals as the team boarded a tour bus. They knew a target was on their back. Trump immediately responded: “I call on Australia to grant asylum to these brave women. If Australia won’t do it, the United States will” (Washington Examiner).

Australia responded: The federal government has confirmed five Iranian football players will remain in Australia after seeking asylum. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says he met with the women last night and told them they were “welcome to stay in Australia” (ABC.AU).

https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2031037703521759371?s=20

Blurb:

Seven American service members are dead, dozens of Iranian children were murdered by a U.S. missile strike, oil is raining from the skies to poison the air for thousands of people living in Iran following an Israeli missile strike, and oil and gas prices worldwide are surging as the war has led to the blockade of a critical waterway used to transport oil.

But hey, at least we have a new Iranian leader who is in some ways worse than the murderous oppressor whom the United States killed a little over a week ago!

Indeed, Iran announced on Sunday that it replaced Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with his son Mojtaba Khamenei. The 56-year-old religious cleric lost his mother, wife, and a son, as well as his father, to U.S. strikes.

Given his relative youth, Iran’s new supreme leader could have many years left to rein over the nation with an iron fist. That means we spent billions, lost American lives, and potentially decimated the global economy only to put in someone who may in fact be more extreme than the previous guy who brutally oppressed both dissenters and women.

Blurb:

 

My colleague Mary Chastain noted in her recent report that President Donald Trump’s team was weighing a takeover of the critical shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a vast amount of global oil supply flows.

This development follows on the heels of continuing military targeting covered by our talented Vijeta Uniyal.

I would like to focus on the Strait for a moment, as I noted in an earlier report that Trump ordered a US agency to provide insurance for companies willing to sail through the region. That plan is moving forward.

The U.S. will provide reinsurance ‌for losses up to $20 billion in the Gulf region, to help provide confidence for oil and gas shippers during the war on Iran, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation said on Friday.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered the DFC to provide political risk ​insurance and financial guarantees for maritime trade in the Gulf after oil and liquefied natural gas ​tanker transit had ground to a halt in the Strait of Hormuz waterway off ⁠Iran, where ordinarily 20% of global oil moves daily.

Blurb:

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke Sunday afternoon in response to escalating global tensions as the Iran war continues to escalate and spread across the region.

The two discussed “the economy, developments in the Middle East, and trade relations between the two countries,” according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The two also agreed to “remain in close contact.”

Also on Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office said Carney gathered the Incident Response Group with ministers and senior officials to discuss the ongoing war in Iran and the Middle East.

Blurb:

The author of that post on X was referring to an online intelligence dashboard following the US-Israel strikes against Iran in real time. Built by two people from the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, it combines open-source data like satellite imagery and ship tracking with a chat function, news feeds, and links to prediction markets, where people can bet on things like who Iran’s next “supreme leader” will be (the recent selection of Mojtaba Khamenei left some bettors with a payout).

I’ve reviewed over a dozen other dashboards like this in the last week. Many were apparently “vibe-coded” in a couple of days with the help of AI tools, including one that got the attention of a founder of the intelligence giant Palantir, the platform through which the US military is accessing AI models like Claude during the war. Some were built before the conflict in Iran, but nearly all of them are being advertised by their creators as a way to beat the slow and ineffective media by getting straight to the truth of what’s happening on the ground. “Just learned more in 30 seconds watching this map than reading or watching any major news network,” one commenter wrote on LinkedIn, responding to a visualization of Iran’s airspace being shut down before the strikes.