JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T
MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE
MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET
SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO
OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST
FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 19 - PACIFIC NATIONS WORRIED ABOUT OIL IN MIDEAST.
THE
NEXT US-ISRAEL HIT ON IRAN SHOULD BE VERSE 37. ALL OFFENSIVE NUKE SITES
MISSLES,DRONES,AND OF COURSE KHEMENI AND THE IRGC GUARDS.THEN AFTER
IRANS REGIME CHANGE. MUSLIMS COME TO JESUS BY THE MILLIONS.
JEREMEIAH 49:32-39 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR OR ARAK NUKE SITES AND ALL OFENSIVE WEAPONS DESTROYED IN IRAN)
Jeremiah 49:32-39
32
Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a
spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners [of
their hair] cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of
them, says Yahweh.
33 Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a
desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of
man sojourn therein.(Location & Size: It was strategically located
along the Via Maris (Way of the Sea), a major trade route connecting
Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.)
34 The word of Yahweh that came to
Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,(IRAN) in the beginning of the
reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus says Yahweh of
Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS)
the chief of their might.(MISSLES AND NUKE SITES)
36 On Elam (IRAN)
will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will
scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where
the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(SINCE 1979 IRANIANS HAVE GOTTIN OUT
OF IRAN BECAUSE OF KHEMENI AND HIS APOCOPOLIPTIC DEATH CULT
BELIEF-BLACK HATER 12ERS)
37 I will cause Elam (IRAN) to be dismayed
before their enemies, and before those who seek their life;(ISRAEL THE
LITTLE SATAN AND THE U.S THE BIG SATAN) and I will bring evil on them,
(MISSLES) even my fierce anger,(FIRE) says Yahweh; and I will send the
sword after them,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) until I have consumed them;
(DESTROYED THEM ALL NUKE SITES,MISSLES ETC)
38 and I will set my
throne in Elam,(IRAN WILL BECOME A CHRISTIAN NATION) and will destroy
from there king (KHEMENI, ISLAM) and princes, says Yahweh.(IRANIAN ARMY
GUARDS)
39 But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring
back the captivity of Elam,(IRAN) says Yahweh.(WERE IN THE LATTER DAYS
NOW)
WHEN ARE THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL IN THE SPRING TIME.(GET READY ISLAM TO BE BIRD SEED FOR THESE BIRDS)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m0bXU5Xqc5M
The
500 million migratory birds in Israel during the spring arrive from
Africa and head toward Europe and Asia, with the peak migration
occurring in March and April. While migration starts in late February,
the most intense movements, particularly of birds of prey, storks, and
pelicans, occur during the third week of March and continue into April.
Key Details on the Spring Migration
Peak Period: Mid-March through April.
Main
Migration Route: The birds use the Great Rift Valley, which includes
the Hula Valley and Eilat, acting as a "bottleneck" where millions of
birds fly through the narrow land bridge.
Best Spots: The Hula Lake
Park (Northern Israel) and the Eilat Birding Center (Southern Israel)
are primary locations for observing the migration.
Key Species:
Hundreds of thousands of white storks, along with black kites, raptors,
and pelicans, pass through over these months.
uration: The spring migration runs from late February and continues into June, though the heaviest traffic is in March/April.
The
500 million migratory birds fly over Israel in the fall between late
August and mid-December. The peak migration period for the autumn, when
the highest volume of bird traffic occurs, is typically October and
November.
Key Fall Migration Details
Location: The Hula Valley (Agamon Hula Park) in northern Israel is the premier spot to witness this phenomenon.
Timing: Migration starts as early as late June with some waders, but intensifies from mid-August through November.
Peak Festival: The "Annual Hula Valley Bird Festival" is usually held in November to align with the peak migration traffic.
Key
Species: Many birds of prey (raptors), including honey buzzards and
steppe eagles, cross during this time, along with massive flocks of
storks and cranes.
While roughly 500 million birds pass through in
the autumn on their way to Africa, the same number crosses again in the
spring (mid-February to May) on their way back to Europe and Asia.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23
Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they
have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the
sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24
Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath
seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in
travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26
Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of
war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I
will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it
shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN
DAMASCUS)
THE IRANIAN
DEATH CULT LEADERS AND GUARDS ARE DELUDED LYING HYPOCRITES.THEIR ALL
MOUTH. AND COWARDS IN REALITY. THEY SAY WITH CHAOS ON THE EARTH-THEIR
FAKE PLAYBOY MAUHDI WILL COME OUTTA THE WELL. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THEIR
HYPOCRITE MOUTH.THEY SAY WE WANT TO DIE FOR ALLAH (SATAN) AND PEDOPHILE
MOHAMMAD. OK SO IF THEY WANNA DIE FOR SATAN (ALLAH FAKE MOON GOD). WHY
DON'T PLAY-BOY-PLAY-TOY MAUHDI-BLACK-HAT 12ERS AND LEADERS IN IRAN AND
GUARDS. NOT WANNA JUST COME OUT OF THE OFFICES, HOUSES, HOLE IN THE
GROUNDS, SO THEY CAN BE BOMBED (SO CALLED MARTYRED) INTO PARADISE.SO
THEY CAN BE PEDOPHILES HAVING 72 VIRGIN KIDS TO HAVE LUSTY EARTHY SEX
WITH FOREVER. BUT I GOT NEWS FOR THESE PUPPETS OF SATAN. THE SCOND THEY
DIE. THEIR IN HELL FIRE FOREVER (NEVER ENDING). OH BUT ALLAH OUR SATANIC
FATHER GOD TOLD US LOSERS.IF WE KILL JEWS, CHRISTIAN OR INFEDELS
(WHOEVERS NOT A MUSLIM OR PERSIAN MAUDI BLACK-HAT-BELIEVER CULTIST). WE
DIE AND GET OUR EARTHLY LUSTS OF SEX FOR MURDER FOREVER. CAN ISLAMIC
SHIITES AND SUNNIS BELIEVE THIS BULL. AND DIE FOR THE CAUSE.YES THEY
CAN.AND YES THE SELF DELUDED FOOLS DO.GOOD LUCK. HELLS GONNA BE FULL OF
ISLAMISTS AND PERSIANS FOR BELIEVING SATAN INSTEAD OF JESUS.
THE
DELUTION THAT NETANYAHO IS DEAD-WE GOT ALL KINDS OF YOUTBE OBSESSERS
CLAIMING AND BELIEVING THEIR SELF DELUTION THAT BIBI NETANYAHO IS DEAD
FROM IRAN.AMIR TSARFATY IS GETTING SO MANY SO CALLED CHRISTIANS
E-MAILING HIM ABOUT THIS LIE.HE HAD TO BLOCK 500 SELF DELUDED FOOLS THAT
BELIEVE THE LIE.THESE LUKE WARM CHRISTIANS GOD IS VOMMITTING OUT OF HIS
MOUTH. AND GIVING THESE SELF DELUDED PEOPLE OVER TO SATAN TO BE HIS
PUPPET. EVEN THUGHT GOD WANTS EVERY ONE ON EARTH SAVED. IF YOU GO TO
FAR.JESUS WILL GIVE YOU OVER TO THE DOCTRINES OF DEMONS AND A REPROBATE
MIND.TO PERRISH. JUST REMEMBER YOU CHOOSE WERE YOU SPEND ETERNITY
(FOREVER).YOUR OWN WORDS CONDEMN YOU WERE YOU SPEND ETERNITY.
Israel
says Iran’s intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib killed in Tehran
strike-Defense minister reveals IDF has free hand to ‘eliminate’ any
senior Iranian security figures; Wall Street Journal reports Iranian
security officials being hunted with drones By Emanuel Fabian-and ToI
Staff 18 March 2026, 3:26 pm
The Israel Defense Forces killed
Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmaeil Khatib, in an overnight airstrike
on Tehran, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday,
adding that “significant surprises” were expected later in the
day.Khatib was the third senior Iranian official slain within 24
hours.“On this day, significant surprises are expected across all arenas
that will escalate the war we are conducting against Iran and Hezbollah
in Lebanon,” Katz said during a security assessment, in remarks
provided by his office.“The intensity of the strikes in Iran is
increasing. The Iranian intelligence minister Khatib was also eliminated
overnight,” he said.Hours later, Israel attacked Iran’s largest
gas-processing facility, in the Bushehr Province.Katz said that he and
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “authorized the IDF to [eliminate]
any senior Iranian figure… without the need for additional
approval.”Khatib, who had served as intelligence minister since 2021,
was targeted by Israeli Air Force fighter jets in the capital,
Tehran.The military said the Intelligence Ministry is “the Iranian
terrorist regime’s primary intelligence organization, which also played a
key role in supporting the regime’s repression and terrorist
activities.”The ministry “possesses advanced intelligence capabilities,
overseeing surveillance, espionage, and the execution of covert
operations worldwide, particularly against the State of Israel and
Iranian citizens,” the IDF said.As intelligence minister, the IDF said,
Khatib “played a significant role during the recent protests throughout
Iran, both with regards to the arrests and killing of protesters, as
well as shaping the regime’s intelligence assessment,” and during
protests in 2022-2023 over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old
Kurdish-Iranian woman, in police custody.The IDF said Khatib also led
the ministry’s “terror activities against Israeli and American targets
around the world, as well as activities directed against targets within
Israel” during the current war.On Tuesday, Israel announced it had
killed Ali Larijani, a top security official believed by some to be
running Iran amid the war, and Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of
the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ volunteer Basij
militia.Throughout the war, Israel has been using targeted airstrikes
and loitering drones to hunt and kill officers of the Iranian regime’s
internal security forces, chasing them from headquarters to backup
locations and even to tents and buses on the side of the road, The Wall
Street Journal reported early Wednesday.Soleimani was killed in a tent
in a wooded area of Tehran, where he’d withdrawn with his deputies after
Israel bombed the Basij headquarters and other official gathering
places. An ordinary Iranian had tipped off Israeli intelligence about
the commander’s location, the report said.According to the article,
after the US-Israeli strikes on February 28 that killed supreme leader
Ali Khamenei and dozens of other high-ranking Iranians, starting the
war, the IDF followed intelligence that security forces planned to use
sports arenas as mustering points. After watching the sites fill up,
Israel struck the stadiums, killing hundreds of members of the security
services and military.That the stadiums — in particular Azadi Stadium,
in Tehran — were struck was widely reported at the time, but their use
as gathering points for security officers was not known. Regime
officials condemned the strikes as attacks on civilian targets, without
acknowledging their use.Israeli intelligence officials have also been
calling individual police commanders, warning them to stand down in the
case of a civilian uprising. The Journal said it reviewed the contents
of one call in which a Mossad agent warned a senior police commander, in
Persian: “We know everything about you.” The policeman reportedly said:
“I’m a dead man already. Just please come help us.”According to the
report, Iranians have reported a sense of disorder taking hold, with
police unable to carry out some of their regular duties, and advising
shopkeepers to close up at night and leaving previous investigations on
hold.Some security officers, afraid for their safety, have started
sleeping in mosques, vehicles, or tents. Some have pleaded with
residents to let them sleep inside apartment buildings, or have set
themselves up in stairwells, prompting the residents to evacuate for
fear of an Israeli strike, the report said.According to the newspaper,
Israel aims not only to disrupt the command and control of the agencies
and degrade their enforcement abilities, but also to show Iranian
civilians that agents of the regime are under attack.Drones hovering in
Tehran, taking out checkpointsOver the past week, the Israeli Air Force
has been striking members of Iran’s oppressive Basij paramilitary force
and its checkpoints across Tehran and elsewhere. The Journal reported
that the IAF had sent “fleets of loitering drones” to carry out the
strikes.On Thursday alone, the IDF said it struck Basij soldiers at more
than 10 checkpoints and positions in Tehran.The military said one
target was an “emergency position” of the Basij and Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps, “which had previously served as a football
club.”A source in Tehran told the Journal that police moved another
checkpoint in the city’s Vanak neighborhood under a highway bridge to
avoid being struck. The report said that much of the intelligence about
roadside targets has come via tips from ordinary Iranians.The IDF said
the strikes were “inflicting deep and ongoing blows to the capabilities
of the Basij unit.”Last week, the IDF also said it had struck members of
the Basij force at checkpoints in Tehran.Though the US and Israel have
said that only Iranians themselves can topple the Islamic Republic, both
countries have spoken of creating the conditions for a popular
uprising.On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Iranians to
challenge the Islamic Republic during the holiday of Nowruz, saying
Israel was “watching from above.” The remark came despite another report
that Israeli officials had warned last week that, as things stood,
Iranians would be “slaughtered” if they took to the streets.The US and
Israel launched a bombing campaign on Iran on February 28 after a
massive US military buildup in the region and repeated threats by US
President Donald Trump to strike Iran, first over its crackdown on
anti-regime protesters in January and then over its nuclear program.
Iran has responded to the bombing with missile and drone strikes across
the region.It’s unclear how many people were killed in Iran’s brutal
crackdown, with estimates from human rights and opposition groups
running at between 7,000 and 36,000 people killed, mostly protesters.
Analysis'Right
now, it's not at all clear who's running things'Larijani’s death
removes key pillar of regime. Will it be enough to make Iran collapse?
Ali Khamenei’s handpicked deputy was believed to be coordinating
Tehran’s war effort. Israel hopes his assassination will bring
protesters out on ancient Persian holidayBy Lazar BermanToday, 2:29
am-MAR 18,26
Iran confirmed on Tuesday that Israel had overnight
assassinated Ali Larijani, one of the most important Iranian officials
who had survived the US-Israeli strikes thus far.Larijani, the secretary
of Iran’s National Security Council, was the regime’s key figure after
the assassination of supreme leader Ali Khamenei by Israel on February
28. He was Khamenei’s handpicked deputy, and many viewed him as the de
facto leader of the Islamic Republic following Khamenei’s death.Khamenei
“saw Larijani as the man who would inherit the Islamic Revolution and
continue it,” said Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president at the
Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. “And that obviously has been
seriously disrupted.”An establishment insider who hailed from one of the
country’s leading clerical families, Larijani had been tasked with
taking the lead on Iran’s most pressing issues. He oversaw Iran’s
efforts to reach a nuclear deal with the United States, and is widely
believed to have personally directed the deadly crackdown on
anti-government protests in January.“Larijani was one of the first
Iranian leaders to call for violence in response to the legitimate
demands of the Iranian people,” said the US Treasury as it announced
sanctions against him.A former member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards,
Larijani served as chief nuclear negotiator from 2005 to 2007, defending
what Tehran says is its right to enrich uranium. He once described
European incentives to abandon nuclear fuel production as “exchanging a
pearl for a candy bar.”In 2005, he headed the Supreme National Security
Council (SNSC) for the first time.Israel’s President Isaac Herzog on
Tuesday accused him of masterminding the kidnapping and killing of IDF
soldiers in 2006 that sparked the Second Lebanon War. “That morning he
took a flight out of Lebanon,” said Herzog. “He was there as head of the
national security council of Iran — he came to plan with [Hassan]
Nasrallah this operation, to give him the okay.”Larijani was speaker of
the parliament from 2008 to 2020, during which time Iran negotiated and
signed a nuclear deal with the US and five other powers in 2015.He also
ran unsuccessfully for president in 2005. He later sought to contest the
2021 and 2024 presidential elections but was barred both times by the
Guardian Council, which cited issues including lifestyle standards and
family ties abroad.Larijani was appointed last August as secretary of
the SNSC once again, following the 12-day air war between Iran and
Israel that the US joined.Khamenei, to whom Larijani had always shown
loyalty, sent him last month to Oman to prepare for indirect nuclear
talks with the US. He also made several trips to key ally Moscow in
recent months to discuss a range of security issues.“His status and
influence extended far beyond any formal position he had,” said Meir
Ben-Shabbat, once Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security
adviser and now head of the Misgav Institute for National Security &
Zionist Strategy.Since Khamenei’s death, said Ben-Shabbat, Larijani
“managed the fight against Israel and served as the chief coordinator of
Iran’s security bodies.”‘Unprecedented crisis’The pressing question now
is what practical effect Larijani’s assassination will have on the
Islamic Republic’s ability to continue mounting a coherent military
response to the US-Israeli aerial onslaught, and potentially on its very
survival.Before Larijani’s death, dozens of other senior Iranian
officials had been killed in 18 days of bombing, including head of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij Force, Gholamreza Soleimani,
who died in a separate strike Monday night.The strikes, said
Ben-Shabbat, “continue the process of severing and dismantling the chain
of ideological, political, and operational command and control of the
Iranian regime, placing it in an unprecedented crisis.”Right now, it’s
not at all clear who’s running things. Khamenei’s son Mojtaba was
selected as Iran’s third supreme leader, but he is believed to have been
injured in the airstrike that killed his father, and hasn’t been seen
since.That doesn’t automatically equal the end of the regime. Iran’s
proxies Hamas and Hezbollah have both suffered a series of Israeli
decapitation strikes and operations, and are both still functioning.But
they didn’t have to contend with an angry populace that wants to tear
down their regime.Larijani’s death, said Michael Makovsky, president and
CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, “has to
hearten the Iranian people, and encourage them more at some point to
rise up again against the regime.”Netanyahu is looking to take advantage
of the strike immediately. In an English-language message to the
Iranian people on Tuesday night, he urged them to “celebrate the
Festival of Fire.”The holiday of Chaharshanbe Suri, marked on Tuesday
evening and seen by the Islamic Republic as pagan though it’s of
Zoroastrian origin, often features anti-regime protests. “Celebrate and
Happy Nowruz,” said Netanyahu, reassuring Iran’s people that “we’re
watching from above.”“The culling of the top leaders is absolutely going
to have an impact on the way the Iranian people view what happens
next,” said Schanzer.No one knows exactly what the next stage of the war
will bring, and whether the killing of Larijani will be enough to get
Iranian protesters back out onto the streets.Even if it isn’t, Israel’s
ability to locate the most important figure in the Iranian regime 18
days into war is evidence of how deeply its intelligence has penetrated
the most sensitive reaches of the Islamic Republic. There are — it
appears — more surprises from Israel on the way.Agencies contributed to
this report.PM urges Iranians to celebrate Persian fire festival, in
apparent bid to spark protests.
Remarks come as Israeli officials
reported to assess protesters would be ‘slaughtered’; some in Iran said
marking Chaharshanbe Suri publicly despite Islamic Republic’s warning
not to By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff Today, 3:18 am
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Iranians to celebrate on Tuesday night
a fire festival derided as pagan by the Islamic Republic, apparently
hoping to spark demonstrations despite Israeli officials’ reported
assessment that anti-regime protesters would be “slaughtered.”Unverified
footage published by Iranian opposition outlets showed crowds marking
Chaharshanbe Suri with bonfires in Tehran and other Iranian cities,
after local authorities warned against the celebrations, citing the
ongoing US-Israeli bombing campaign. At the same time, Iranian
authorities on Tuesday called on supporters to rally nationwide against
“potential plots” by the “Zionist enemy.”The Chaharshanbe Suri holiday
is marked on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz, the Persian
new year, which starts Friday evening.Celebrations surrounding the
Persian new year have in recent years sometimes featured protests
against the regime, which took power in the 1979 Islamic Revolution and
discourages the non-Muslim celebrations.In an English-language video
statement Tuesday evening, Netanyahu told Iranians, “Celebrate, and
Happy Nowruz. We’re watching from above.”Speaking from the Air Force
command bunker at the IDF’s Kirya headquarter in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu
noted Israel in the past day killed Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani
and Basij volunteer force head Gholamreza Soleimani, architects of the
regime’s massacre of protesters in January.I'm here with Israel's
Defense Minister, our Chief of Staff, the head of the Mossad, the Chief
of Air Force, our senior commanders. In the past 24 hours, we knocked
out two of the terrorist chieftains, the top terrorist chieftains of
this tyranny. Our aircraft are hitting the… pic.twitter.com/lFJKEMvgxR
Advertisement — Benjamin Netanyahu – ×‘× ×™×ž×™×Ÿ × ×ª× ×™×”×• (@netanyahu) March
17, 2026“In the past 24 hours, we knocked out two of the terrorist
chieftains, the top terrorist chieftains of this tyranny,” he said. “Our
aircraft are hitting the terror operatives on the grounds, in the
crossroads, in the city squares.“This is meant to enable the brave
people of Iran to celebrate the Festival of Fire,” said Netanyahu.The
comments came hours after the Washington Post reported that senior
Israeli officials assessed that if Iranians take to the streets, “the
people will get slaughtered” because the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps “has the upper hand” over them.The assessment was reportedly cited
in a cable to the US State Department that was circulated Friday by the
US embassy in Israel. According to the report, the cable was a summary
of meetings held last week between US officials and members of Israel’s
Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry and National Security Council. The
authenticity of the cable was verified by two State Department
officials, the newspaper said.The cable reportedly said Israel had
expected there to be “more chaos” within Iran’s regime following the
killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening salvo of the
US-Israeli bombing campaign.But instead, the regime is “not cracking”
and is willing to “fight to the end,” with its grip on power
demonstrated by its continued ability to launch drones and ballistic
missiles “everywhere they want to,” Israeli officials told their US
counterparts, according to the cable cited by the Washington Post.The
“stubborn” regime would have to be “taken down from within,” Israeli
officials were quoted saying as they speculated the regime could become
more moderate if Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, were
killed.Meanwhile, the younger Khamenei was “still in charge,” and was
even “more aligned” with hardliners from the IRGC than his father had
been, the report said, quoting the cable.Still, the Israeli officials
cited in the US cable said they hoped Iranians would revolt and that the
US should prepare to support them if they do, according to the
Washington Post.The US and Israel launched a bombing campaign on Iran on
February 28 after a massive US military buildup in the region and
repeated threats by US President Donald Trump to strike Iran, first over
its crackdown on anti-regime protesters in January and more recently
over its nuclear program. Iran has responded to the bombing with missile
and drone strikes across the region.It’s unclear how many people were
killed in Iran’s brutal crackdown, with estimates from human rights and
opposition groups running at between 7,000 and 36,000 people killed,
mostly protesters.
Analysis'Drone warfare has become cheap and
commercially available'Despite FBI warning, Iran likely can’t strike US
homeland with military drones-Experts say Tehran probably lacks the
ability to attack the American mainland with military aircraft, although
a domestic terror plot using commercially available drones is a
threat-By Luke Tress-Today, 7:43 pm-MAR 18,26
Last week, reports
surfaced that the FBI had issued a warning about potential Iranian drone
attacks on California.Federal and state officials downplayed the
threat, saying there were no indications of an imminent attack.“No such
threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did,” White House
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.Some still took the danger
seriously, though — the Academy Awards, held in Los Angeles over the
weekend, beefed up security due to fears of a possible attack.But could
Iran actually attack the US homeland with military drones? Two experts
said it was unlikely Iran has the capability, although one added that a
domestic terrorist attack using drones was more realistic.“I don’t think
it’s likely, but it’s a goal,” said Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at
the American Enterprise Institute think tank who specializes in Iran,
Turkey and the wider Middle East.The initial FBI warning reportedly said
that Iran “allegedly aspired” to a drone attack from an “unidentified
vessel” off the coast, but did not say that Iran had the capability. The
warning came immediately before the outbreak of the war and said it had
“no additional information on the timing, method, target, or
perpetrators of this alleged attack.”Leavitt said the warning was based
on “one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about
a single, unverified tip.”Rubin, a former Pentagon official who has
lived in Iran, said it was an aspiration for Iran because a successful
attack would be a boon for the regime’s standing.“The first foreign
state power to attack the US since World War II would be a hook upon
which Iranians could claim victory for a generation,” he said, noting
that the Iranian regime still celebrates Operation Morvarid, a 1980
Iranian raid against Iraq.Rubin said a potential drone attack could
theoretically be launched from a cargo ship in the Pacific, or from
Mexico. Iran reportedly has links to criminal networks and other bad
actors in Latin America.“It would not be too difficult to utilize them
if the price is right,” Rubin said.“The fact that previous
administrations gave the Revolutionary Guards pallets of cash just
underlines the fact that all things are possible,” he added, referring
to the Obama and Biden administrations’ sanctions relief for Iran.Iran
has attacked Israel and Arab states since the start of the war with
hundreds of drones and missiles.Kateryna Bondar, a fellow at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, DC, research
institute, also said she doubted Iran could attack US territory with
military drones.“Bringing [military] drones close to the US coast on
cargo ships, it’s pretty complicated. I don’t think Iran has such
capability or has been planning this in advance,” she said, adding that
Iran does not possess drones with the range to reach the US from Iranian
territory. Iran’s military drones are believed to have a maximum range
of about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).US intelligence, satellites,
spectrum analysis and border defenses could all thwart such an attack,
said Bondar, a former adviser to the Ukrainian government who has
studied drone warfare in Ukraine and written about Iran’s use of drones
in the war.The Ukraine conflict has seen pioneering use of drones in
warfare, particularly by Ukraine, which has used cheap unmanned aerial
vehicles to defend against Russian attacks that often use Iran’s Shahed
drone series.Ukraine last week sent anti-drone experts to Middle Eastern
Arab states under Iranian attack.Bondar warned that a domestic
terrorist attack using commercial drones was more of a threat. Iran is
believed to have sleeper cells and sympathizers in other countries who
could carry out attacks. The US has thwarted Iranian plots in the US,
and Iran-linked attacks have been carried out in countries such as
Argentina.“Drone warfare has become very accessible, cheap and
commercially available, so that it can be an act of terrorism here in
the US,” Bondar said.“Anyone can buy an FPV drone online on Amazon,
attach an explosive device and there’s your flying IED,” she said,
referring to off-the-shelf first-person-view drones and improvised
explosive devices. “Not only Iran, but anyone can do that.”She pointed
to Ukraine’s Operation Spider’s Web last year, in which Ukrainian forces
attacked strategic bomber aircraft at Russian airbases by launching
explosive-laden drones from trucks near the targets in Russian
territory, far from the front lines.Such an attack on the US would not
require military expertise or the complicated logistics that would be
required to bring military drones near the US, Bondar said.“It is so
much easier than bringing a Shahed drone and cargo ship and risking and
going over all the border patrol and the Coast Guard and all sorts of
defenses on the border,” Bondar said. “Drones are just tools. Pretty
easy to fly, to maneuver, to learn how to use. Anyone can do this, so it
makes this threat even more feasible.”
Iranian cluster bombs
kill foreign worker in central Israel, 3 West Bank Palestinians-Two
women and girl killed near Hebron are first Palestinian casualties of
Iran war; Hezbollah fires at Gaza border area, in apparent first since
renewing attacks on Israel from Lebanon By Emanuel Fabian-Today, 3:46
am-MAR 19,26
Iranian ballistic missile strikes Wednesday night
killed a man in central Israel and at least three women in the southern
West Bank, first responders said.The man, a 30-year-old foreign worker,
sustained critical injuries from shrapnel in Moshav Adanim and was
declared dead a short while later, the Magen David Adom ambulance
service said. He was not immediately named.Police and medics said they
were responding to reports of impacts in central Israel, as footage
showed the ballistic missile launched by Iran carried a cluster bomb.In
the Hebron-area village of Beit Awwa, roughly an hour before, an
apparent cluster munition killed at least three people and wounded
thirteen, two of them critically, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society
said.The two women and girl were the first West Bank Palestinians killed
by Iran in the current war. WAFA the Palestinian Authority’s official
news agency, identified them as Sahira, Amal and Mais Masalma, ages 50,
36 and 17, respectively. It was not immediately clear how they were
related.Another cluster munition hit the Israeli community of Neta, just
over the Green Line from Beit Awwa, damaging a home but causing no
injuries, according to rescue services.Sirens warning of the strike had
sounded in several towns north of Beersheba as well as southern West
Bank settlements. Footage showed at least one of the missiles carried a
cluster bomb warhead.Earlier Wednesday, a 44-year-old man and two
children aged 13 and 12 in central Israel’s Petah Tivka were lightly
wounded in another Iranian ballistic missile attack, medics said.
Several cluster munition impact sites were reported in central Israel,
one of which caused damage to a home.Three other Iranian missile attacks
since Wednesday morning also set off sirens in the areas of Haifa, the
Galilee, the Golan and near southern Israel’s Eilat, without any injures
reported.About half the ballistic missiles launched by Iran at Israel
in the current war have carried cluster bomb warheads, according to the
IDF. A couple in their 70s were killed early Wednesday by a cluster
munition that hit their home in central Israel’s Ramat Gan. Iran
acknowledged firing cluster munitions, saying it was to avenge Israel’s
killing of Iranian security chief Ali Larijani earlier this week.Iran
has launched missile and drone attacks across the region in response to
the ongoing bombing campaign that the US and Israel launched on the
Islamic Republic on February 28 in a bid to destabilize its leadership
and destroy its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Iran’s latest
attacks on Israel came after Defense Minister said the IDF killed Iran’s
intelligence chief overnight, the third top Iranian official killed in
the last 24 hours.Meanwhile, Iran-backed Hezbollah also attacked Israel
on Wednesday, including launching rockets at the Gaza border area — some
200 kilometers (124 miles) from Lebanon — apparently for the first time
since the Iran-backed terror group renewed its attacks on Israel
earlier this month.The long-range projectiles struck open areas,
according to the military. No injuries were reported.During the attack,
sirens also sounded in nearby Ashkelon as well as in northern Israel’s
Kiryat Shmona, where the rocket caused damage but no injures, according
to rescue services.Minutes earlier, Hezbollah launched a small number of
projectiles at central Israel and the Galilee. Sirens had sounded in
Tayibe, Qalansawe, Kfar Saba and other nearby towns northeast of Tel
Aviv, as well as in several communities in the Galilee. No injuries were
reported.The projectiles were either intercepted or landed in open
areas, according to the IDF.Sirens also sounded earlier Wednesday
warning of a Hezbollah drone attack in the Galilee Panhandle and Golan
Heights, with no injuries or damage reported.Hezbollah on March 2
launched its first rocket barrage on Israel since the November 2024
Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal. Israel has responded with massive
airstrikes in Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon.Hezbollah has said it
renewed its attacks in response to both Israel’s continued presence and
attacks in Lebanon since the agreement, and the killing of Iran’s
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the start of the current US-Israeli
bombing campaign.
US was aware of attack ahead of time, but
wasn't involved-Israel strikes major Iranian gas field; Tehran vows to
hit Gulf energy sites in kind-Impact expected to be far-reaching, with
Brent crude soaring to over $108 a barrel; Qatar, UAE condemn
‘irresponsible’ escalation as Iran warns it will take ‘an eye for an
eye’By Emanuel Fabian,Nava Freiberg,Lazar Berman,Jacob Magid,ToI Staff
and Agencies 18 March 2026, 8:41 pm
The Israeli Air Force struck
Iranian gas infrastructure in the country’s south on Wednesday, in a
coordinated effort with the United States that experts warned would send
ripples through the global economy and further expand the regional
conflagration.The strikes, launched on the 18th day of the US-Israeli
offensive against the Iranian regime, targeted Iran’s massive offshore
South Pars natural gas field, located in the Bushehr Province. Iranian
state media reported additional strikes targeting oil facilities in
Asaluyeh.The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes
on the gas facility, but an Israeli official confirmed the strike was
carried out by the IAF.It marked the first time that Israel attacked
natural gas facilities in Iran during the ongoing campaign, after the US
struck the Islamic Republic’s oil export hub on Kharg Island over the
weekend, although it said it hit only military sites on the island.A US
defense official confirmed to the Axios news site that the South Pars
strike was coordinated with and approved by Washington. However, Gulf
nations, which were likely to bear the brunt of any Iranian retaliation,
slammed the move as “dangerous and irresponsible.”Iran’s Fars news
agency reported that gas tanks and parts of a refinery had been hit,
workers had been evacuated to a safe location and emergency crews were
trying to put out a fire. State media later said the fire was under
control.Israel is now reportedly attacking Iranian oil facilities in
southern Iran. pic.twitter.com/BOH088y68n — Clash Report (@clashreport)
March 18, 2026-Iran warned that it would retaliate by targeting energy
installations across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar,
whose own North Field gas field is connected to South Pars.It
specifically threatened 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.A source familiar
with the matter later told Reuters that Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG
installations were being evacuated as a precaution.Knock-on effect felt
abroad-The impact of the strikes was felt immediately, both in the
region and beyond, as gas imports to neighboring Iraq were halted, and
the price of Brent crude oil jumped to just shy of $110 a barrel, around
a six percent increase in price.The price of crude oil had already
skyrocketed since February 28, as Tehran shuttered the Strait of Hormuz,
where 20% of oil and liquefied natural gas is normally shipped past its
coast, but consuming nations have hoped the disruption will be
short-lived as long as production infrastructure is spared.Iran’s
offshore South Pars gas field makes up around a third of the world’s
largest reservoir of natural gas, and the country’s gas production
totalled 276 billion cubic meters in 2024, with 94% consumed in Iran,
according to data by the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.Sanctions and
technical constraints have meant that most of the gas Tehran produces
from South Pars is for domestic use, although a portion is also exported
across the border to Iraq, which is highly dependent on it. Around 30%
to 40% of Iraq’s gas and power needs are supplied by Tehran.Following
the attack, however, Iran diverted its gas domestically, halting the
flow to Iraq. Iraqi authorities said they were expecting a knock-on
effect on power supplies there.“Depending on the damage to the South
Pars, it will likely affect Iran’s ability to send gas to power
electricity plants domestically and domestic energy supplies for gas
processing,” explained Karen Young, senior research scholar at Columbia
University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, to The Times of
Israel.“Iran has promised to retaliate mostly on petrochemical
facilities and refineries in UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” she said, in
what would be “one step further to disruption of global energy markets,”
this time focused “less on crude transit and more on refined
products.”“Iran does not export LNG [liquified natural gas], rather it
exports gas through pipelines to neighboring countries,” she explained.
“So, if there is a disruption to domestic supply, it could shift to stop
exports to Turkey and Iraq.”Turkey, unlike Iraq, did not immediately
acknowledge any changes to its gas imports from Iran.Iraq’s state news
agency said later on Wednesday that the country’s state oil company SOMO
had signed contracts with international carriers and buyers to export
crude oil via Turkey, Jordan and Syria.The regional response to the
Israeli strikes was not a warm one, as the Gulf states found themselves
once again in the line of fire as Iran warned it would retaliate by
striking their own gas facilities.Dangerous and irresponsible-Qatar, in a
statement published by foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari on X,
panned Israel for the “dangerous and irresponsible” action.As a close
US ally and host to the largest US airbase in the region, Qatar blamed
the attack on Israel without mentioning any US role.“The Israeli
targeting of facilities linked to Iran’s South Pars field, an extension
of Qatar’s North Field, is a dangerous & irresponsible step amid the
current military escalation in the region,” he wrote.“Targeting energy
infrastructure constitutes a threat to global energy security, as well
as to the peoples of the region & its environment,” he continued,
calling on all sides not to target “vital facilities.”The UAE, like
Doha, noted that Iran’s South Pars field is connected to Qatar’s North
Field, and warned that the strikes “represented a dangerous
escalation.”The targeting of energy facilities, it said, “entails
serious environmental repercussions and directly endangers
civilians.”While neither Israel nor the US commented directly on the
strike or took responsibility for it, a US official and a second source
familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that Jerusalem
coordinated its strikes on the South Pars natural gas field with the
US.The source familiar with the matter said the US was aware of the
attack ahead of time, but did not take part in it.Channel 12 cited an
unnamed official who said the goal of the attack was to communicate to
Tehran that the longer it blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the worse it
would be for Iran’s energy infrastructure.“It was a signal to the
Iranians about what might come next,” the official said.Another official
told Ynet that the strike was intended to increase domestic pressure on
the regime by ramping up the anger against it.“There will be power and
gas outages,” the unnamed official predicted. “The regime will probably
reduce the supply of gas to consumers, and from there, the pressure will
increase.”The official predicted that Iran would likely try to target
Israeli national infrastructure in retaliation, on top of the Gulf
facilities it has already threatened.Strategic significance-Beyond the
material damage feared by the Gulf states, experts warned that the
consequences of the Israeli strike could be far-reaching and impact
global markets.“This could have strategic significance — even [marking] a
turning point in the war — not because of the importance of this
specific facility for Iran, significant as it may be, but because this
is the first time gas facilities in Iran have been meaningfully struck,”
explained Yoel Guzansky, a Gulf expert at Tel Aviv’s Institute for
National Security Studies.“Iran is capable of, and may now choose to,
target gas and oil facilities in the Gulf states,” he said. “This could
escalate the war to a new level, severely impacting international
markets and the ability of Gulf states to export oil and gas.”This, in
turn, he predicted, could “trigger a further response from the United
States and Israel, potentially including strikes on even more
significant Iranian oil infrastructure — chief among them Kharg
Island.”Trump has already threatened to carry out additional strikes on
Kharg Island “just for fun,” after the US struck military targets on the
oil export hub on Saturday.“This could mark a very dangerous escalation
[in] the war,” Guzansky said.Hinting at the potential for this scenario
to play out, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Qhalibaf warned
on X on Wednesday evening that Tehran would be seeking “an eye for an
eye.”“A new level of confrontation has begun,” he added.
Trump: Israel won’t again strike Iran gas field but US will if Qatar energy sites attacked-By Jacob Magid-MAR 19,26
US
President Donald Trump says he will not allow another Israeli attack on
Iran’s South Pars natural gas field, after the IDF struck the key
energy site on Wednesday.Trump writes on Truth Social that Israel
“violently lashed out” at South Pars “out of anger for what has taken
place in the Middle East,” while insisting that only “a relatively small
section” of the oil field has been hit.The US president claims that the
US “knew nothing about this particular attack.”However, US and Israeli
officials briefing reporters earlier Wednesday said that Jerusalem did
in fact coordinate the strike with Washington, after the latter fumed
over an uncoordinated IDF strike on a Tehran fuel facility earlier in
the war.Trump notes that while Qatar was also not involved in the
Israeli attack, Iran “unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion” of
Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquified natural gas production facility.“NO MORE
ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important
and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a
very innocent — in this case — Qatar,” Trump writes.If such an Iranian
attack takes place, the US — “with or without the help or consent of
Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars gas field
at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed
before,” Trump adds.“I do not want to authorize this level of violence
and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have
on the future of Iran, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not
hesitate to do so,” he says.
US intel official: Iran regime is
marred but intact, will seek to rebuild if it survives-Gabbard tells
lawmakers Iran didn’t reconstitute ‘obliterated’ nuclear program after
June strikes, contradicting Trump, who cited Tehran’s efforts to do so
as a justification for the war By Jacob Magid and ToI Staff Today, 3:16
am-MAR 19,26
US intelligence agencies assess that while Iran has
been severely damaged by the past two and a half weeks of US and Israeli
strikes, the regime appears to remain intact and will seek to rebuild
its military capabilities if it survives the war, US Director of
National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Wednesday.“The IC [US
intelligence community] assesses that the regime in Iran appears to be
intact, but largely degraded, due to attacks on its leadership and
military capabilities,” Gabbard said in a prepared statement at the
beginning of her testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on
the 19th day of the US and Israeli war against Iran.The testimony
featured significant pushback from Democrats who took issue with what
they said were conflicting messages from the Trump administration
regarding its justification for launching the war against Iran on
February 28.Gabbard appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee
along with several other top intelligence officials as part of an annual
hearing on worldwide threats.The DNI began her testimony by going
reviewing the progress that the administration had made in the war
against Iran.Iran’s “conventional military power projection capabilities
have largely been destroyed, leaving limited options. Iran’s strategic
position has been significantly degraded,” she said, noting that
sanctions in the lead-up to the war sparked mass protests against an
already weak regime.“Even if the regime remains intact, the IC assesses
that internal tensions are likely to increase as Iran’s economy
worsens,” Gabbard continued. “Even so, Iran and its proxies continue to
attack us in the Middle East.”“The IC assesses that if [the] hostile
regime survives, it will likely seek to begin a years-long effort to
rebuild its military missiles and UAV [Unmanned Aerial Vehicle] forces,”
she said.During the questioning, the committee’s top Democrat Senator
Mark Warner pointed out that Gabbard omitted a key line from the written
statement that was submitted to the panel beforehand:“As a result of
Operation Midnight Hammer,” Gabbard wrote, referring to the June 2025 US
strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, “Iran’s nuclear enrichment
program was obliterated. There has been no effort to try and rebuild
their enrichment capability.”The conclusion seemed to contradict US
President Donald Trump who in his speech announcing Operation Epic Fury,
stated that after the 2025 strikes, Iran “attempted to rebuild their
nuclear program,” and that this was one of the reasons for the
war.Gabbard told Warner she omitted this section of her written comments
when reading the statement aloud because her “time was running long.”
But Warner said the senior intelligence official was just reluctant to
publicly contradict Trump.Gabbard was later pressed to defend the White
House’s assertion that the Islamic Republic posed an “imminent nuclear
threat” in light of her statement that Iran had not tried to rebuild its
“obliterated” nuclear program.She responded that “the intelligence
community assessed that Iran maintained the intention to rebuild and to
continue to grow their nuclear enrichment.”Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff
challenged Gabbard to explain the discrepancy between Iran merely
having the intention to rebuild its nuclear program and posing an
imminent threat.Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks
as, from left, FBI Director Kash Patel, Defense Intelligence Agency
Director James Adams III, Acting Commander of the US Cyber Command
William Hartman, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe listen during the
Senate Committee on Intelligence hearings to examine worldwide threats
on Capitol Hill Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP/Jose Luis
Magana)Gabbard replied, “It is not the intelligence community’s
responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat.”“The
only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is
the president,” she added.Ossoff called this “false,” arguing that “it
is precisely your responsibility to determine what constitutes a threat
to the United States.OSSOFF: Your opening statement stated that as a
result of last summer's airstrikes, Iran's nuclear enrichment program
was 'obliterated.' Correct? GABBARD: That's right OSSOFF: The WH stated
on March 1 that this war was launched to 'eliminate the imminent nuclear
threat posed by… pic.twitter.com/3rPVnmZVTb — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar)
March 18, 2026-Further complicating the question of the intelligence
community’s assessments was the resignation on Tuesday of Joseph Kent,
who asserted on social media that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our
nation.” Kent, who has previously faced scrutiny over his espousal of
conspiracy theories and ties to white nationalists, blamed Israel and
“its powerful American lobby” for convincing the US to go to
war.Democrats also grilled Gabbard on Trump’s claim that he was
completely surprised at Iran’s decision to strike Arab neighbors in
response to the US and Israeli attacks.Gabbard refused to disclose to
the committee whether US intelligence assessments had predicted such
retaliatory Iranian strikes. She did say that Iran’s closing of the
Strait of Hormuz had been expected, yet she refused to say whether she
had briefed Trump about this expectation.Iran’s closure of the crucial
strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported, and its
attacks on energy infrastructure in surrounding countries have caused a
surge in oil prices and fears of an energy crisis.
Your destiny
will be as your leader,' Mossad agent tells cop-Israel said threatening
Iranian officers on the phone as part of efforts to stir unrest-Mossad
agent tells senior cop he’s on a ‘blacklist,’ augurs his demise in taped
call obtained by WSJ, as Israel hopes crippling of domestic security
forces will help lead to uprising-By ToI Staff Today, 1:45 am-MAR 19,26
Israeli
efforts to topple Iran’s regime in the ongoing war have expanded into
the realm of psychological warfare, according to a Wall Street Journal
report, which claimed intelligence officials have been placing
threatening phone calls to Iranian internal security forces.The calls
are apparently part of a larger campaign by Israel to lay the groundwork
for an uprising to oust the Islamic Republic by weakening the morale of
its public security personnel, including the Revolutionary Guard’s
domestic security arms, the Basij militia and special police forces, per
the Wednesday report.The Wall Street Journal detailed one such phone
exchange between a Mossad agent and police commander, in a taped call
obtained by the American outlet.In Farsi, the Israeli agent was
reportedly heard saying, “We know everything about you. You are on our
blacklist, and we have all the information about you,” to which the
commander replied, “OK.”The agent seemed to urge the officer to join in,
or at least step aside, in the case of an uprising against the regime.
“I called to warn you in advance that you should stand with your
people’s side… if you will not do that, your destiny will be as your
leader,” he said.“Brother, I swear on the Quran, I’m not your enemy,”
the commander reportedly responded. “I’m a dead man already. Just please
come help us.”Aside from phone calls, Israeli strikes targeting
rank-and-file officers have sent forces scrambling for cover. The
strikes are reportedly part of a division of labor by the US and Israel,
in which the former goes after the regime’s “military and industrial
power” while the latter targets “structures of internal control.”This
began with the targeting of command centers, then the targeting of local
sports complexes — which Israeli intelligence officials quickly learned
were being used as backup gathering spots for internal security forces.
The Wall Stree Journal said the strikes on these stadiums were among
the deadliest so far in this war.Israel has reportedly since shifted its
focus to individual checkpoints and roadblocks operated by members of
the oppressive Basij paramilitary volunteer force, targeting personnel
with fleets of loitering drones.These efforts have played second fiddle
in the public eye to the high-profile assassinations of supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ali Larijani, the powerful secretary of
Iran’s National Security Council, but have thrust Iran’s law enforcement
system into limbo nonetheless.At least three different checkpoints were
targeted Thursday last week, including at the Imam Reza Highway and on
Shahed Street in northern Tehran. On Sunday night, Israeli forces hit 11
checkpoints. According to the report, many of the strikes were guided
by tips from ordinary Iranians.Residents reported security personnel
taking over schools, sports halls and other civilian buildings to evade
loitering drones. When security officers take cover in apartments, many
tenants evacuate, fearing a strike.Some residents told the Wall Street
Journal that police were seen sleeping in tents and buses.Israel has
also struck police warehouses, destroying computer equipment, vehicles
and police gear, according to target lists cited in the report.
Motorcycle units — which have been crucial to the regime in suppressing
protests — were another target for the Israeli Air Force.The report said
that investigations into crimes like theft that happened before the war
are up in the air with police under attack, while quoting a Tehran
resident who said police told him and other shop owners to close before
dark, since their security could not be guaranteed by cops.Despite major
setbacks for the regime, its forces have managed to stave off
meaningful collective dissent.Though Israeli officials told the Wall
Street Journal that strikes have made a significant dent, it is
difficult to gauge to what extent the regime’s command structure has
been disrupted, due to its tight grip on internet activity.Meanwhile,
experts speculated that if the Islamic Republic manages to hold onto
power, it will emerge more emboldened and hardline than it was before,
with one telling the newspaper that “they are seeing a decaying system
before their eyes… But it would take a lot more attacks to turn the
tables.”
Op-ed-Regimes are ousted from within, but the US and
Israel must not let up until that happens in Iran-Trump and Netanyahu
now allow that their confidence in the Iranian people rising up when the
bombings stop may be misplaced. But they cannot end this war without
the removal of Iran’s uranium stockpile, and a commitment to keep
returning until the regime is gone-By David Horovitz-18 March 2026, 5:16
pm
This Editor’s Note was sent out earlier Wednesday in ToI’s
weekly update email to members of the Times of Israel Community. To
receive these Editor’s Notes as they’re released, join the ToI Community
here.Almost three weeks into the US-Israel war on the Islamic Republic,
with much of the world dithering, Israel and much of the Gulf fiercely
supportive, and US President Donald Trump confusingly vowing to keep
going and to imminently stop, let nobody doubt what hangs in the
balance.We are at war because the mass-murdering regime in Tehran —
during negotiations aimed by the US at avoiding this conflict, even as
the ayatollahs had resumed their nuclear weapons program and were again
expanding their ballistic missile arsenal — refused to give up its
ostensible “right” to enrich uranium.Why would that be? Because they had
already evaded oversight protocols and enriched sufficient uranium for
11 nuclear bombs, as they cheerfully confirmed to Trump’s negotiator
Steve Witkoff, and by extension fully intend to proceed along the road
to a nuclear arsenal.And what would they do if they reached their
destination? Whatever is necessary to destroy Israel and anybody else
that resists their would-be regional- and world-dominating skewed
Islamic extremist vision of divine will. Just as they have been doing
whatever is necessary to slaughter their own domestic opponents by the
tens of thousands. Just as they have been targeting their own regional
rivals, appeasers and supporters alike, to try to ratchet up pressure to
end this war. Just as they are leveraging their capacity to play havoc
with global energy supplies via the Strait of Hormuz. Just as they have
inspired, armed and trained terrorist armies on Israel’s borders for
decades to try to wipe us out. Just as they have carried out incessant
acts of terrorism to destabilize free nations and peoples
worldwide.After almost three weeks of missile attacks, battered
Israelis, hounded from Metula to Eilat, nonetheless overwhelmingly
support this war. That’s because we know all too well that the tragic
price paid so far — in loss of life, damage, the further decline of our
international standing as far right and far left combine to misrepresent
what is actually unfolding, and the impact on Jews and Jewish
communities targeted by terror and antisemitism — is nothing compared to
the apocalyptic consequence for all humanity if these coldhearted
fanatics obtain the weapons of mass destruction they are insistently
seeking.Sooner or later — and for all of our sakes, let it be sooner —
Iranians and the rest of us have to be freed from the black shadow of
the Islamic Republic.And if the regime doesn’t fall? Is that, then, how
this war will end? With the toppling of the regime?Maybe, but not
necessarily.Both Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have said
repeatedly that the goal of the war is to create the conditions in which
the Iranian public — assessed to widely loathe the regime — can take
control from the ayatollahs.Not only that — both of them have said
repeatedly since the start of the airstrikes on February 28 that the
moment for doing so is imminent.In his opening statement that day, in
remarks addressed to “the great, proud people of Iran,” Trump specified
that “the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave
your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping
everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be
yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for
generations.”Netanyahu last week, in his only press conference to date
since the war started, promised Iranians: “The moment when you will be
able to embark on a new path of freedom is approaching. That moment is
drawing closer.”But both men have lately also reluctantly allowed that
their breezy confidence may have been exaggerated and that this campaign
may not end with the people of Iran emerging to seize control of their
destiny.On Friday, asked by Fox News whether he still believes the
masses can oust the ayatollahs, Trump acknowledged, “I really think
that’s a big hurdle to climb for people that don’t have weapons.” It
will happen, he went on to assert, “but… maybe not
immediately.”Similarly Netanyahu, in his Thursday press conference,
stressed, “We will create optimal conditions” for the Iranian public to
emerge and take charge, but admitted, “I do not deny it: I cannot say
for certain that the Iranian people will bring down the regime.”“The
[promised] help has come and more will follow,” he added. “We are all
hoping for the result of this regime falling.” But “ultimately, a regime
is ousted from within.”The intelligence and execution of the joint
attacks has been extraordinary, but what of the strategic planning? Have
energized, capable new leaders been identified, encouraged and assisted
in preparing for the intended moment of truth? Of that, we still know
very little.Is that because atypical secrecy has been impressively
maintained, or because such planning has been inadequate? Who is
supposed to lead the uprising, to reverse the Islamic Revolution? Who,
and whose army.And if this war does not end with the fall of the regime,
or precipitate its fall in the near future, will the US and Israel keep
returning, as they must, to thwart its revival until it does collapse?
That stockpile must come out-Whether this proves to be the defining
round of conflict, or the Islamic Republic survives in one form or
another, it is crucial that the fighting not end with the regime
retaining those 450 kilograms of near-weapons-grade uranium — believed
to be intact and held underground at the Isfahan nuclear facility and
possibly one or two other locations.The regime’s motivation to get to
the bomb has increased hugely as it battles to survive — knowing the
enhanced strength it would have as a nuclear power in resisting future
efforts to oust it.There has been talk of an ambitious and dangerous
special forces operation to retrieve the stockpile, and Israel has
pulled off some remarkable operations inside Iranian territory,
including the Mossad’s seizure and methodical removal of Iran’s nuclear
weapons project archive from Tehran in 2018. But this would be a
challenge of a far different order, taking control of targets that the
regime is undoubtedly braced to defend come what may.In the run-up to
this conflict, Iran’s negotiators proved unwilling to give up the 60%
uranium hoard — merely to ostensibly downgrade or dilute it, in return
for the lifting of all international sanctions. If the war is to have
any medium-term benefit, Ariel Levite, a veteran former senior official
at the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, argued persuasively this week,
Israel and the US must leverage their successes to ensure that what
remains of the regime gives up both the stockpile and its purported
right to enrichment. That’s a “preferred option and it’s not
impossible,” Levite suggested, even with an extremist Iranian leadership
and even at the price of a non-aggression pact and sanctions relief.Far
better, needless to say, for the regime to fall, life-affirming
Iranians to take control, and the rogue nuclear program to be carefully
and irrevocably dismantled.Hubris-The Israel-led “decapitation” policy —
which began with the killing of ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many others
on the morning of February 28, and continues unabated even as I write
these lines — marks an astonishing feat of both intelligence gathering
and execution.The declared aim is to eliminate the regime’s leaders, and
their successors, and their successors’ successors, until it can no
longer function.The intelligence penetration of the regime that is
enabling not only pinpoint strikes on nuclear installations and other
stationary targets, but, especially, ongoing targeted killings — of
extremely savvy figures who know they are being hunted down and yet
still cannot escape their fate — stands in almost unimaginable contrast
to the catastrophic intelligence vacuum that enabled Hamas to invade
southern Israel on October 7, 2023.Those left standing have nowhere they
can feel safe, and nobody they can fully trust.But Israel must
recognize the dangers of hubris. We wanted to believe — as Trump
avowedly did — that the regime’s nuclear and missile programs had been
strategically demolished last June, and the regime somewhat deterred
from a rapid return to its bomb program. That was not the case.We wanted
to believe, and our leadership broadly assured residents of northern
Israel, that Hezbollah — its leadership eradicated, many of its
operatives killed in the legendary exploding beeper operation, its
missile and rocket capacity massively degraded — was largely out of
action. Hezbollah is, indeed, not the mighty terrorist army that it was
until 2024, but recent days have underlined its ongoing capacity and
determination, in defiance of much of Lebanon’s leadership, to wreak
destruction.And we may want to believe that Israel is immune to anything
remotely resembling the intelligence penetration that the military and
security services have evidently achieved in the relentless elimination
of the leaders and commanders of the Islamic Republic. But the
innumerable arrests and prosecutions here of spies and would-be spies
for Iran, and the vast potential for cyber and other electronic
penetration, tell a different story.Israel is promising further
surprises as it works to counter the Islamic Republic’s military
capabilities and eliminate the leadership of the regime. Our leadership
must surely know that the regime is trying to do the same, and must not
be underestimated.Dystopia via deadly prediction betting? I have to add a
short word, also war-related, about the death threats to our
indefatigable military correspondent Emanuel Fabian by bettors on
Polymarket.Journalism can be a risky business, especially for war
reporters. But such reporters have not hitherto had to worry about
vicious threats to themselves and their loved ones, issued by
financially incentivized criminals, stemming from their straightforward
reporting of events.The Times of Israel sadly has experience of
dangerous people making credible threats to our staff because of our
reporting of financial criminality, notably when we exposed the
despicable binary options industry, a fraudulent enterprise that stole
billions worldwide, ruined innumerable lives, and even pushed victims to
suicide. That industry metastasized and almost all of its perpetrators
remain at large, with not a single successful prosecution in Israel and
precious few around the world.Now Fabian was targeted by users of a
real-life-events prediction gambling enterprise that allowed them to
place bets on developments in the war against Iran. Polymarket has
condemned the threats, says it has (somehow) identified the accounts
involved and banned them, and has promised to convey the relevant
information to the appropriate authorities.That’s all well and good. But
it is still promoting bets on the progress of the war.Taking bets where
lives are directly at stake should be unthinkable. And since nothing is
unthinkable, it should be illegal. Where money is involved, some people
are capable of unlimited immorality, unscrupulousness and criminality.
These kinds of bets provide financial encouragement for such people to
say, and do, things that get other people killed.Think on that. Think of
where it can lead. Think what corrupt and dangerous people in positions
where they have the capacity to get people killed — private criminals
and criminals with political power — can do to win these bets. From
threatening a reporter to get him to change an accurate report for the
sake of a few million pounds, to sending troops into this or that
battle, starting this or that war, and lord knows what else. The
opportunities for financial gain are endless, and the consequences for
victims are unlimited.Dystopia via deadly prediction betting. Is that
the way we want to go? It’s past time for honest people with political
power to intervene.
Senior UAE official says Iranian attacks will
drive Gulf countries into Israeli arms-Emirati presidential adviser
Anwar Gargash says ‘more channels will open’ between Israel and Arab
countries it doesn’t have ties with, in the wake of incessant Iranian
strikes By Lazar Berman-18 March 2026, 4:32 pm
A top adviser to
the United Arab Emirates’ president said on Tuesday that Iran’s attacks
on Gulf states are pushing them closer to Israel and to the US.“Iran’s
full-throttle attack on the Gulf states will actually strengthen the
Israeli role in the Gulf, will not diminish it,” Anwar Gargash said
during a Council on Foreign Relations event.“For countries that have
relations with Israel, this is — you know, this relationship, in my
opinion, will be even more strengthened,” he continued. “For countries
that don’t have, I expect… that more channels will be open.”Israel
normalized relations with the UAE and Bahrain, another Gulf country, in
2020.Since the US and Israel opened their aerial campaign against Iran
on February 28, Tehran has attacked airports, ports, oil facilities and
commercial hubs in the six Gulf states with missiles and drones while
also attacking Israel and disrupting shipping through the Strait of
Hormuz — the artery carrying about a fifth of global oil and
underpinning Gulf economies.The attacks have reinforced Gulf fears that
leaving Iran with any significant offensive weaponry or arms
manufacturing capacity could embolden it to hold the region’s energy
lifeline hostage whenever tensions rise.However, they have not joined
any attacks themselves, as Gulf leaders remain deeply fearful of
triggering a broader, uncontrollable conflagration.Gargash said at
Tuesday’s online event that his country could join an international
effort led by the US to ensure the safety and security of the Strait of
Hormuz.The next day saw a major Israeli strike on the largest gas field
in the world.The South Pars/North Dome mega-field supplies around 70
percent of Iran’s domestic natural gas. Iran, which shares the massive
field with energy giant Qatar, has been developing its side since the
late 1990s.Iran’s state television said that in response to the strike,
the Islamic Republic will be attacking oil and gas infrastructure in
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Iran specifically
threatened Saudi Arabia’s Samref Refinery and its Jubail Petrochemical
Complex, the UAE’s Al Hasan Gas Field, and the petrochemical plants and a
refinery in Qatar.The UAE has faced more Iranian attacks than any other
country. Since the start of the war, the UAE has intercepted 327
ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,699 drones, according to
the Gulf state’s defense ministry. Two UAE soldiers have died in the
war, as have six civilians, with another 158 wounded.“We’re not seeing
2,000 Israeli missiles and drones targeting us,” said Gargash. “We’re
seeing 2,000 Iranian missiles and drones targeting us.”Predominantly
Shiite Muslim Iran has often viewed its Sunni Arab Gulf neighbors —
close allies of the US that host American military bases — with deep
suspicion, even if relations with Qatar and Oman have generally been
less fraught.“I think for countries that are seeking to buttress also
their defense, their technology, I think it will be more linked,” said
Gargash. “And I think this is also the folly of this Iranian strategy,
an Iranian strategy that will actually make the Gulf — make Israel less
of a threat and Iran more of a threat.”He said that the Gulf countries
will also double down on their ties with the US.“In this war we are
seeing how important that American connection is,” said Gargash,
“although that American connection — we might criticize it over a
certain defense system or over a certain of lack of response… overall I
think the Iranian folly of targeting the region is not in any way
diminishing the America[n] role. I think it’s strengthening the
America[n] roles.”Over the years, Iran and its regional allies have been
accused of attacks on Gulf energy installations, not least a 2019
strike on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities — for which
Iran denied responsibility — that halved Saudi output and rattled energy
markets.The six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain,
Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE — have held just one Zoom
call, and no Arab summit has been convened to discuss coordinated
action.US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that Gulf
partners were “stepping up even more” and were willing to “go on the
offense” while already working with Washington on collective and
integrated air defenses, though he did not specify what else they might
do.A senior UAE official said his country had chosen restraint, after
Iran said the US military had used the UAE to strike Kharg Island, home
to Iran’s main oil export terminal.Reuters contributed to this report.
Pacific nations fear fuel shortages as Middle East war sends oil prices soaring.
Nuku'alofa,
Tonga, March 19 (AFP) Mar 19, 2026-Leaders of Samoa and Tonga appealed
for help this week as the import-reliant Pacific nations raised fears
over possible fuel shortages and escalating costs caused by war in the
Middle East.Oil prices have surged to nearly $110 a barrel following
strikes against energy infrastructure in Iran and the Gulf states.The
crisis in global energy markets has been felt as far away as the south
Pacific, where nations like Samoa and Tonga are heavily reliant on
imported petroleum.In Samoa, about two thirds of the country's energy
generation comes from imported diesel fuel.Speaking after a meeting with
New Zealand leader Christopher Luxon, Samoan Prime Minister
La'aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt said he had asked if it was possible
to divert fuel to his country in case of crisis."We don't know what's
going to happen next," La'aulialemalietoa said.He said Samoa secured its
fuel supply from Singapore and other nations, but had asked Luxon to
help "cover us in case something happened".And in Tonga -- where 80
percent of its energy generation comes from imported diesel fuel --
Prime Minister Lord Fakafanua said New Zealand and Australia were
"sharing intelligence" with his country to help them best prepare for
shortages. Tourism makes up 25 percent of Samoa's GDP and 11 percent in
Tonga.That's raising concern for countries heavily reliant on airlines
that are facing huge cost pressures due to the price of jet fuel.The two
nations also depend on their fisheries for food. Any shortage in fuel
affects the ability of communities to fuel boats and feed
themselves.Tonga had already faced fuel supply issues last year after
maintenance delays, limited storage and a stranded fuel vessel left the
country almost dry.Lord Fakafanua said he wanted to manage expectations
for Tongans concerned about supply and cost."The restrictions are beyond
our control," he said."What we can do is prepare as best we can, and
part of that is the sharing of intelligence with our partners such as
Australia and New Zealand."My concern is about ensuring that we have
enough energy for the country," he said, adding that "for now we seem to
be okay".Lord Fakafanua said he hoped for a swift resolution to the
Middle East conflict."We don't advocate for violence. Our foreign policy
remains friend to all, enemy to no one."
PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8
And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that
sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given
unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with
sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE
DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18
By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the
fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their
mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE
17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS
KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE
BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND
DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in
that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN
WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4
billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37
And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto
them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered
together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against
Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten
by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE
SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE
CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH
IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the
earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and,
behold, I will destroy them with the earth.(CAN YOU SAY
TORNADOES,HURRICANES,VOLCANOES,EARTH QUAKES,LANDSLIDES,FLASH
FLOODING,EXPLOSIONS,SNOW STORMS,THEN FINALLY NUKESAND ANY OTHER
JUDGEMENTS THE EARTH CAN VOMIT THE SINNERS OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH
WITH.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there
shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and
troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11
And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE
SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great
signs shall there be from heaven.
2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP) (HOT SUN, NUKES ETC)
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7
By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,
being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
LUKE 21:25-26
25
And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in
the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the
stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations,
with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE
WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for
fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things
which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven
shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
GENESIS 16:11-12
11
And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with
child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF
THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And
he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS)
man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be
against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against
him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL
ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his
brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the
morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars
of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the
sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above
the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF
THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2
They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that
whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM
MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
And here are the
bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or
peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels
land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the
future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan,
Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq
west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe
23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN
THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE
FUTURE.
Joel 3:2-King James Version (YOU DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN
HALF - YOUR POKING GOD IN THE EYE - GOD SAYS AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A
TOOTH FOR A TOOTH- YOU WANNA DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - HALF OF EARTHS
POPULATION 4 BILLION DIE ON EARTH.
2 I will also gather all nations,
and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead
with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have
scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
Israel conducts wave of strikes on Beirut, knocks out southern bridges-Beirut, Lebanon, March 18 (AFP) Mar 18, 2026
Lebanon
was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when militant group
Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel to avenge the killing of
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Israel responded with
intense strikes on Lebanon that have killed at least 968 people and
displaced over a million, according to local authorities, and by
launching ground operations in the south.AFP journalists in the Lebanese
capital said three densely-populated neighbourhoods in the heart of
Beirut were hit on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people and wounding
41, according to the health ministry.In Bashoura, a whole building
collapsed into a mound of rubble after being struck."It was at 4:00 am,
we were asleep," said Sara Saleh, a 29-year-old woman displaced from
Beirut's southern suburbs, long a Hezbollah bastion but where hundreds
of thousands of people live."We fled in our pyjamas," she told AFP,
after she and her family fled a school they were sheltering in nearby.-
Hezbollah TV - Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said a
strike had hit an apartment in the central Zuqaq al-Blat neighbourhood, a
densely-populated area close to the government's headquarters and
several embassies.Two other strikes targeted apartments in the central
Basta district, another heavily populated area that Israel struck during
a 2024 war with Hezbollah.An AFP correspondent saw emergency workers at
the scene in Basta where the walls of apartments on two adjacent floors
appeared to have been blasted off.Another strike later in the morning
also hit Zuqaq al-Blat, where an AFP journalist saw people clearing dust
and glass from cars and the streets.Hezbollah's Al Manar TV said
Mohammad Sherri, the director of its political programmes, had been
killed along with his wife in one of the strikes in Zuqaq
al-Blat.Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said that targeting
"media professionals constitutes a flagrant violation of international
law".Hezbollah condemned what it said was Israel's "assassination" of
Sherri, describing it as a "deliberate attack".In a statement Wednesday,
the Israeli army said that, on Tuesday, one of its strikes in the "area
of Beirut" had killed a commander in a division linked to the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards. AFP was unable to independently confirm this.-
Panic in the south -Late Wednesday, the Israeli army renewed strikes on
several towns and villages in south Lebanon, according to the NNA, while
Hezbollah claimed rocket salvos on a defence company in Haifa and on
Nahariya, both in northern Israel.Israel attacked two bridges across the
Litani River, which splits the south of the country.AFP photos showed a
bridge in an agricultural area north of the southern city of Tyre
partially destroyed, with fires burning in the surrounding brush.Israel
said Wednesday it would target bridges crossing the Litani, "to prevent
the transfer of reinforcements and weapons" to the frontlines,
essentially cutting off a large part of the south from the rest of the
country.In a statement issued after the twin bridge attacks, the Israeli
defence minister said: "This is a direct action against Hezbollah's use
of Lebanon's state infrastructure... and also a clear message to the
Lebanese government: the State of Israel will not allow such a
reality."Israel struck at least five gas stations belonging to the
Al-Amana fuel company, which it said finances Hezbollah.This came as
Hezbollah announced it had repelled an attempt by "Israeli enemy
soldiers to advance" in Khiam, a town about six kilometres (four miles)
from the border that has witnessed fierce clashes in recent days.Late
Tuesday, the Israeli military had issued an evacuation order for most of
the city of Tyre as well as swathes of surrounding areas, sending
people fleeing northwards, an AFP correspondent said.In a statement on
Wednesday the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said "last
night's violent escalation marks a further worrying
deterioration"."Heavy exchanges of fire, intensified air and ground
activity, and increased presence of Israeli forces inside Lebanese
territory are deeply concerning developments," it added.
IDF
strikes Hezbollah financial, military sites; Lebanese authorities report
14 dead-Army says it will bomb Litani River crossings used by Hezbollah
as it repeats warning for south Lebanon residents to flee northward
following Hezbollah rocket barrage on north By Emanuel Fabian-and
Agencies Today, 6:05 pm-MAR 18,26
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon
on Wednesday killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens, according to
Lebanon’s health ministry, as the Israel Defense Forces said it struck
Hezbollah targets in response to the Iran-backed terror group’s rocket
barrage on northern Israel overnight.The military also renewed its call
for residents of Hezbollah’s southern Lebanon heartland to flee
northward, and said it would bomb crossings used by Hezbollah to move
troops and equipment south over the Litani River, which runs some 30
kilometers (18 miles) north of the Israeli border.Israel has escalated
airstrikes and pushed troops farther into Lebanon after Hezbollah
earlier this month started launching attacks on Israel for the first
time since the November 2024 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement, which
ended over a year of conflict.Hezbollah has said the strikes were in
response to both Israel’s continued presence and strikes in Lebanon
since the agreement, and the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei at the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran on
February 28.Israeli strikes on central Beirut’s Basta and Zuqaq al-Blat
neighborhoods on Wednesday morning killed at least 12 people and wounded
41, said Lebanon’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between
combatants and civilians.“It was at 4 a.m., we were asleep,” said Sara
Saleh, a 29-year-old woman displaced from Beirut’s southern district, a
densely populated Hezbollah stronghold.“We fled in our pyjamas,” she
told AFP, after she and her family fled a school they were sheltering in
nearby.Among those killed were the director of political programming
for Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV and his wife, while their children and
grandchildren were wounded, the network said.The IDF had issued an
evacuation warning for one building in Beirut’s Bachoura neighborhood,
saying it would target facilities used by Hezbollah. In the morning, the
military said the Air Force had struck facilities of Hezbollah’s
quasi-bank Al-Qard al-Hasan in Beirut.Also in Beirut, the military said a
strike carried out by the Israeli Navy targeted a “key” Hezbollah
operative. No further details were given.The IDF said it also struck
command centers “deliberately embedded within the civilian population”
in the southern coastal city of Tyre, which it described as a Hezbollah
“center of gravity.” The Tyre area had already been partially evacuated
of civilians, and the military issued a new warning ahead of the
strikes.A building collapses in Beirut following an Israeli strike after
the Israeli military called on residents of the city's central
neighbourhood to evacuate, warning of an imminent attack on the Lebanese
capital targeting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah
pic.twitter.com/vQpWZQs68m — AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 18,
2026-Another airstrike in south Lebanon targeted a headquarters of the
Imam Hossein Division, an Iranian militia that operates alongside
Hezbollah, the military added.Lebanon’s health ministry said two people,
including a civil defense rescuer, were killed in an Israeli strike on a
vehicle near the main seaside road in Sidon. There was no immediate
comment from the military on that strike.Later on Wednesday morning, the
military targeted gas stations in Lebanon that it said were owned by
Hezbollah.Al-Amana, a fuel distribution company that is owned by
Hezbollah, has been under US sanctions since February 2020. The IDF said
the company “constitutes fundamental economic infrastructure that
supports Hezbollah’s military capabilities.”???????????????? Destruction
and plumes of smoke were reported following an airstrike on the
Al-Amana station in Deir Qanoun. pic.twitter.com/uQAooEWBIZ —
???????????????? Gabriel Ferrigno | Geopolitics (@bielferrigno) March
18, 2026-The strikes on Al-Amana were intended to cause a blow to both
the terror group’s income and mobility, according to the IDF.“The
targeted assets generate millions of dollars of profits for the terror
organization. These funds are funneled through accounts owned by
Hezbollah’s Al-Quard Al-Hassan Association, and fund Hezbollah’s terror
activity,” the military said.The military also repeated its call, which
was first issued on Thursday and renewed on Tuesday, for residents of
southern Lebanon to flee north of the Zahrani River, which runs about 18
kilometers (11 miles) north of the Litani River, where the IDF said it
would target crossings used by Hezbollah.The IDF has assessed that just
under 1,000 members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force crossed the Litani
River into southern Lebanon to confront Israeli forces carrying out a
ground operation.So far, the IDF said it has killed at least 200 Radwan
operatives, who the military says are deployed in small cells across
nearly every village in southern Lebanon and are mostly retreating after
encountering Israeli forces.“Due to Hezbollah’s activities and the
movement of terror operatives to southern Lebanon under the cover of the
civilian population, the IDF is forced to carry out extensive and
precise strikes against Hezbollah’s terror activities,” said army
spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee on Wednesday.To “prevent the transfer of
reinforcements and combat equipment, the IDF intends to attack crossings
on the Litani River” in the afternoon, said Adraee. Addressing south
Lebanon residents, he added: “For your safety, you must continue moving
to the area north of the Zahrani River and refrain from any movement
southward that could endanger your lives.”Last week, the military struck
a bridge on the Litani River that it said was being used by Hezbollah
as a “key crossing” to move from northern to southern Lebanon.IDF says
it thwarted over half of overnight rocket barrage-The IDF said Wednesday
that it thwarted more than half of Hezbollah’s overnight rocket barrage
on northern Israel, and assessed that the terror group plans to launch
similarly large attacks every few days.According to military estimates,
Hezbollah intended to fire at least 100 rockets. In practice, it
mustered around 40 short-range rockets, several missiles, and five
drones.Most of the rockets were intercepted, landed in open areas, or
fell short in Lebanon. One, however, struck a home in the northern city
of Karmiel, causing damage. All five of the drones were intercepted,
according to the IDF.The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on
Hezbollah rocket launchers, launch teams, and command centers both
before and during the barrage, aiming to disrupt it. The military said
several launchers were destroyed before they could be used, and at least
10 more were struck afterward.In recent days, Hezbollah has been firing
an average of about 150 rockets per day, according to the IDF, which
assesses that the group is attempting to periodically escalate with
larger barrages like the one planned last night.Roughly two-thirds of
the daily rocket fire has been directed at Israeli forces operating in
southern Lebanon and along the border, with the remaining third aimed at
Israel.The IDF believes Hezbollah still possesses thousands of
short-range rockets with ranges of up to 40 kilometers (24.8 miles),
along with hundreds of longer-range projectiles.However, most of the
terror group’s remaining capabilities are now based deeper in southern
Lebanon, including north of the Litani River. As a result, short-range
rockets are largely limited to targeting troops in southern Lebanon or
Israeli communities in the Galilee, rather than cities deeper inside
Israel.The military also assesses that Hezbollah has decentralized its
rocket array, using launchers with fewer barrels spread across more
locations. While this makes them harder to detect and destroy, it also
reduces the number of rockets that can be fired at once.Meanwhile, the
IDF and the Shin Bet internal security service said Wednesday that a
senior Hamas moneyman was killed in an Israeli strike on the offices of
Hamas’s “fundraising apparatus” in Sidon on Sunday.Wissam Mustafa
Hussein Taha operated under Hamas fundraising chief Essam Khashan and
had worked “to raise hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide for
Hamas,” the Shin Bet said, adding that the funds “are used to finance
terrorism, military buildup, and salaries for operatives in the military
wing.”The IDF on Wednesday also published footage showing the
identification of Hezbollah operatives transporting weapons in southern
Lebanon, before being targeted in an airstrike.The operatives were
identified by troops of the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division moving RPGs
and other weapons out of a car. A short while later, an Air Force drone
struck and killed the Hezbollah members, the IDF said.In another
incident, troops of the 401st Armored Brigade identified two Hezbollah
operatives who had launched rockets at Israeli forces, and a short while
later, they were struck and killed, the military said.Elsewhere in
southern Lebanon, troops of the 300th “Baram” Regional Brigade recently
demolished over 80 Hezbollah sites, the IDF said, adding that the
brigade killed two Hezbollah operatives who emerged from one of the
sites.Strikes in Lebanon killing or wounding a classroom of kids every
day, says UN officialIDF strikes in Lebanon have killed over 900 people
and displaced more than a million since Hezbollah renewed its attacks on
Israel, according to Lebanese authorities.At least 111 children have
been killed and 334 wounded in Israel’s strikes on Lebanon, according to
Lebanese health ministry figures.“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 told Reuters in
Beirut on Wednesday.Israel says it does not deliberately target
civilians and that it takes multiple steps, including early evacuation
warnings, to mitigate harm to civilians before strikes on terror targets
take place.Children across the region have “paid a terrible price” as
the war has expanded across the Middle East, with Iran launching
missiles and drones throughout the region in response to the continued
US-Israeli bombing campaign, said Chaiban.“The first thing we’re calling
for is a de-escalation, a political way forward to this war,” he
said.On Wednesday, France’s special envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le
Drian, said Hezbollah “bears full responsibility for the resumption of
fighting in Lebanon” but “Israel’s response has been disproportionate
and counterproductive, as it unites various actors against
Israel.”Speaking to the France Info radio station, Le Drian accused
Israel of spurning offers by the Lebanese government to enter into
negotiations, and of driving the mass displacement in Lebanon with the
IDF’s evacuation warnings.Israel and the US have criticized the Lebanese
state for failing to disarm Hezbollah in accordance with the November
2024 ceasefire agreement. Le Drian said the state had taken steps toward
disarmament.“Israel occupied Lebanon for many years and did not succeed
in eliminating Hezbollah’s military capabilities,” Le Drian said. “It
cannot now demand that the Lebanese government achieve this in three
days under bombardment.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this
report.
3,500 people evacuated, 10,946 damage claims filed since
start of latest Iran war-State comptroller report shows most evacuations
from Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Beit Shemesh and Beersheba, with half of damage
claims coming from Tel Aviv region By Sue Surkes-Today, 11:38 am-MAR
18,26
Just under 3,500 residents of Israel have been forced to
evacuate their homes since the start of the current war against Iran,
and 10,946 claims for property damage have been submitted, the state
comptroller said.A report published Monday covered the period from the
start of the war on February 28 to 8 a.m. on Sunday.Evacuations took
place in 22 local authorities hit by missiles or interception fragments.
They were led by Tel Aviv-Jaffa (1,420), Beit Shemesh west of Jerusalem
(840), and the southern city of Beersheba (570). In fourth place came
the mixed Arab-Jewish central city of Ramle (190), followed by Bnei Brak
near Tel Aviv (105), Zarzir, a Bedouin town in northern Israel (65),
and the central cities of Givatayim (55) and Ramat Gan (40).Nine people,
including three siblings, were killed in Beit Shemesh earlier this
month when an Iranian missile strike demolished a synagogue and several
homes. Israel’s rescue services said 65 people were hospitalized in the
attack, including two seriously wounded.In one major hit on Beersheba,
at least 19 people were injured.Around 60 percent of the evacuees
countrywide chose to move into hotels, with the rest finding their own
accommodations, with state support.As barrages of missiles continued to
rain down on central Israel, a ballistic missile killed a Ramat Gan
couple in their 70s early on Wednesday morning.Of the compensation
claims, around 7,650 were for structural damage, 1,180 for broken
equipment, 1,950 for vehicle damage and 175 classified as “other.”Around
half of all property claims (5,614) were submitted from the Tel Aviv
region, the report said.Tel Aviv was followed by the area around the
southern city of Ashkelon (4,022), northwestern Acre (815), northeastern
Tiberias (278), and Jerusalem (217).To shorten the bureaucratic process
for claiming compensation, the Tax Authority has introduced a
fast-track system for claims of up to NIS 30,000 ($9,720) that requires
an owner’s declaration and photos of the damage. This is supposed to
provide payments within a week without the need for a surveyor’s
visit.Of the 10,946 claims submitted during the report’s timeframe,
1,821 were opened in this track. No data was available for any payments
made.
Iran executes man accused of spying for Mossad-Kouroush
Keyvani was arrested during June war and convicted for providing Israeli
spy agency with information about ‘sensitive locations’By Agencies
Today, 11:38 am-MAR 18,26
Iran executed a man accused of spying
for Israel, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency said on Wednesday, in
the first such execution announced since the war with Israel and the
United States broke out on February 28.“The death sentence of a spy for
the Zionist regime, who had been providing images and information, about
the country’s sensitive locations to Mossad officers was carried out
this morning,” the Mizan Online website said.Mizan identified the man as
Kouroush Keyvani and said he was arrested during Iran’s 12-day war with
Israel last June.It listed details of his alleged meetings with agents
from Israel’s Mossad spy agency and said he received training in “six
European countries and in Tel Aviv.”Locked in a decades-long shadow war
with Israel, Iran has executed scores of people it has accused of
links to Mossad and of facilitating its operations inside the
country.The most recent execution of a man Iran accused of spying for
Israel was on January 7. Mizan named the accused as Ali Ardestani.
Russia
sharing satellite imagery and drone technology with Iran –
report-Moscow said providing its own domestically produced components to
improve strike capabilities of Iranian Shahed drones; White House says
support not making any difference to war By ToI Staff Today, 8:38 am-MAR
18,26
Russia has been expanding its intelligence sharing and
military cooperation with Iran, providing satellite imagery and improved
drone technology to aid Tehran’s targeting of US forces in the region,
the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with
the matter.According to the report, Moscow is helping its ally Iran with
the aim of dragging out the war, as it has economic and military
benefits for Russia.Sources, including a senior European intelligence
officer, said Russia has been supplying Iran with parts to modify Shahed
drones, providing them with improved communications, navigation, and
targeting capabilities. Shahed drones are made by Iran, but the Russians
have their own domestically produced versions. The Russians have also
been sharing their experience in using the weapons against Ukraine, with
advice on how best to launch attacks with multiple drones.The Journal
and the Washington Post have both previously reported that Russia was
giving Iran satellite information about the location of US forces in the
Middle East. Sources told the Journal in its recent report that such
cooperation has further increased and is believed to have aided the
Iranians in hitting US radar systems in the region.The information is
coming from satellites operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces, one
official said.The Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment.White
House spokeswoman Olivia Wales shrugged off the report, saying that
Russian support to Iran is not having a significant impact on war
achievements.“Nothing provided to Iran by any other country is affecting
our operational success,” she said, claiming that US strikes on Iranian
assets have led to “their missile attacks decreasing by 90 percent and
their drone attacks decreasing by 95%.”Iran has launched numerous
missile and drone attacks on countries hosting US bases in the region,
as well as on Israeli population centers, in retaliation for the
American-Israeli campaign that began on February 28 with extensive
airstrikes and has continued unabated ever since.Earlier this month, CNN
reported that satellite imagery shows several US radar sites in the
region have been hit, impeding air defense capabilities, including one
servicing a THAAD defense battery in Jordan and several radar systems in
the United Arab Emirates. The New York Times reported on seven US radar
and communication sites hit across the region. Drone and missiles have
also hit civilian targets and oil infrastructure in Gulf countries,
causing casualties and damage.Ukraine says that Russia has used some
57,000 Shahed drones in the ongoing war between the two countries. In
addition to thousands it received from Iran, Russia has also been
manufacturing the drones itself, giving them improved targeting
abilities and better resistance to electronic warfare jamming, the
Journal said. Some of those improvements are now being shared with
Iran.Meanwhile, Kyiv has developed a range of cheap and effective drone
interceptors — aerial craft designed to hit incoming attack drones
mid-air. Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that Ukrainian
military personnel were expected to arrive in the Gulf to help
countries there fend off Iranian drone attacks.With Iran seeking to
strangle off the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route connecting
the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, oil prices have risen, boosting a
key element of the Russian economy. In addition, Moscow is seen to be
benefitting from the US depleting stocks of interceptor missiles that
the Ukrainians want for their own air defenses.Russia and Iran have long
enjoyed close ties, and in January 2025, the two countries signed a
strategic partnership agreement to further improve cooperation,
including military and defense partnerships.
US encouraging Syria
to assist with disarming Hezbollah in Lebanon — sources-People briefed
on the matter say Damascus is hesitant to take military action in
eastern Lebanon, concerned about risks of Iranian missile attacks and
domestic instability By Feras Dalatey, Maya Gebeily and Timour Azhari
Today, 6:49 am-MAR 18,26
DAMASCUS, Syria (Reuters) – The United
States has encouraged Syria to consider sending forces into eastern
Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, but Damascus is reluctant to embark on
such a mission for fear of being sucked into the war in the Middle East
and inflaming sectarian tensions, five people briefed on the matter
said.The proposal to Syria’s US-allied government reflects intensifying
moves to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah, which opened fire at Israel in
support of Tehran on March 2, prompting an Israeli offensive in
Lebanon.The idea was first discussed by US and Syrian officials last
year, said two of the sources — both Syrian officials — and two others
familiar with the discussions. All spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the matter.The idea was raised again by US
officials around the time the US and Israel began their war against
Iran. The two Syrian officials said a US request came shortly before the
war began. A Western intelligence source said it was just after it
started.Reuters spoke to 10 sources for this article — six Syrian
officials and government advisors, two Western diplomats, a European
official and a Western intelligence source. All said Syria’s Sunni
Islamist-led government had been cautiously considering a cross-border
operation but remained hesitant.US encouragement for a Syrian operation
in eastern Lebanon and Syria’s hesitation to carry one out have not
previously been reported.A US State Department spokesperson declined to
comment on “private diplomatic communications,” and referred Reuters to
the Syrian and Lebanese governments for comments on their
operations.After this story was published, US envoy for Syria Tom
Barrack, who is also ambassador to Turkey, posted on X that “reporting
regarding the United States encouraging Syria to send forces into
Lebanon is false and inaccurate.”Damascus offers assurances to
Lebanon-Despite historic enmity towards Hezbollah and Tehran — both
fought alongside Bashar al-Assad during Syria’s 2011-24 civil war —
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has moved cautiously since US-Israeli
airstrikes on Iran began on February 28.One source, a senior Syrian
official, said Damascus and its Arab allies agreed Syria should stay out
of the war, and take only defensive measures.Damascus has deployed
rocket units and thousands of troops at the Lebanese frontier since
early February, calling these measures defensive.Syria’s ministries of
foreign affairs and information did not respond to requests for
comment.Responding to questions from Reuters, Lebanon’s presidency said
it had not received any “hint or notice from the US, the West, the Arab
countries or Syria” about US-Syria discussions on a potential
cross-border operation.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had held a
bilateral call with Sharaa, and a trilateral call also involving
France’s president, in which Sharaa said Syria respected Lebanon’s
sovereignty and had no intervention plans, the presidency said.It said
Lebanon coordinates with Syria on border arrangements but has never
discussed Hezbollah with Damascus.Lebanon’s military said channels of
coordination with Syria remained open “within the framework of
addressing border issues and common security challenges”, with the aim
of preventing tensions or incidents and ensuring stability in the border
area.Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Sharaa had told him “the
reinforcement of the military presence along the Syrian-Lebanese border
aims solely to strengthen border control and maintain internal Syrian
security,” and that Sharaa underlined the importance of continued
coordination.Aoun has pursued a policy aimed at securing Hezbollah’s
disarmament but Beirut has moved cautiously, with Hezbollah wielding a
potent arsenal and enjoying significant support among Lebanese Shi’ite
Muslims.Sharaa has said he supports Aoun’s efforts to disarm
Hezbollah.Damascus sees risk of Iranian attack, minority unrest-The
senior Syrian official said Washington had given the green light for an
operation into eastern Lebanon to help Lebanon disarm Hezbollah — when
the time is right.But Damascus saw risks including possible Iranian
missile attacks and potential for unrest among minority Shi’ites,
threatening efforts to stabilize Syria after sectarian violence last
year.Two Western diplomats also said Washington had approved the idea of
a Syrian cross-border operation against Hezbollah. The Western
intelligence source and a European official said the US had asked
Syria’s army to play a more active role countering Hezbollah in Lebanon,
including via a possible incursion into the east.The Western
intelligence source and the European official said Syria’s leadership
was wary of entering Lebanon as this could inflame bilateral tensions.A
Syrian military official said there was no final decision yet on any
possible operation inside Lebanon, but the option of intervening in the
event of a conflict between the Lebanese state and Hezbollah remained on
the table.Syrian domination under the Assads-Syria long dominated
Lebanon under the Assads, sending in forces in 1976 during the 1975-90
civil war at the invitation of president Suleiman Frangieh and
controlling Lebanon’s post-war politics until its withdrawal in 2005.Any
Syrian intervention could fuel sectarian tensions in both Syria and
Lebanon, home to a mosaic of sects including Sunnis, Christians, Druze
and Shi’ites.In a March 13 interview with Lebanese broadcaster MTV,
Syrian Defense Ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Hassan Abdel
Ghani said the build-up at the border was a defensive measure. There was
a high level of coordination with Lebanon’s army, he said, and Sharaa
supported the establishment of Lebanese state authority over
Lebanon.Last week, Syria’s army said Hezbollah artillery shells landed
in a border village. Hezbollah had said it had repelled an Israeli
attempt to infiltrate Lebanon from the same village. Israeli officials
said they were unaware of any such operation. The Syrian army said it
was “considering appropriate options to take the necessary actions” in
response.
Analysis-‘A deluxe war’: Why Israeli support for the
battle with Iran has stayed so high-Public backing is still sky-high
despite sirens, sleepless nights and shuttered schools. The reason,
pollsters say, is Israelis feel they’re waging an existential fight in
relative safety By Ben Sales-Today, 4:21 am-MAR 18,26`
Last week,
the psychoanalyst Yoram Yovell made waves when he went on TV and, in
the middle of a conversation about the Iran war, accused part of the
country of being “a bunch of spoiled prima donnas.”“I’ve never seen
anything like this,” he said on Channel 12. “Gentlemen, ladies, the
people of Israel, you need to kiss the Air Force’s feet. You need to
wake up, to say thank you. There’s never been a war like this. There’s
never been an army like this.”He went on, “The Air Force, the pilots,
and the Home Front Command are giving you a deluxe war. Say thank you,
for God’s sake!”If you’re wondering why, going on three weeks into the
war with Iran, the vast majority of Israelis still support it, there’s
your answer.The past 18 days have not been easy here in Israel. As of
early Wednesday morning, 14 people have been killed in Israel from
Iranian missile attacks. The north is under a constant barrage of
rockets and drones from Hezbollah, with IDF soldiers pushing deeper into
Lebanon. Routinely, Israel’s hospitals record more than 100 people
admitted per day due to injuries from the fighting — whether from
missile attacks themselves or the constant rush to shelter every time a
siren sounds.Speaking of bomb sirens: Quiet nights in central Israel,
where the population is concentrated, feel like an increasingly distant
memory, especially for people who need to leave their apartment every
time the alarm blares. During the writing of this analysis alone, two
sirens went off in Tel Aviv. It was at complaints about the sirens that
Yovell aimed his rebuke.In most of the country, parents have had almost
three trying weeks at home with their kids as workplaces stay open but
schools remain shuttered, with the two-week Passover break around the
corner.And this is all after, not nine months ago, Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the last Iran war in June was a
“historic victory” that would “abide for generations.”Considering all of
that, you could be forgiven for thinking Israelis would no longer
support this war — except they do, in spades.High levels of resilience
to fight an ‘existential danger’A survey by the Israel Democracy
Institute taken on the war’s third and fourth day found that 82 percent
of Israelis overall, including 93% of Jewish Israelis, support the
US-Israeli operation against Iran. In the IDI’s second survey, taken a
week or so later, the numbers were 81% and 92.5%, respectively. In both
polls, about a quarter of Arab Israelis conveyed support.Surveys by the
Institute for National Security Studies likewise show overall support
holding firm. Its first poll, released on March 3, found that 81% of
Israelis backed the operation. In a second poll released on Tuesday, the
number was 78.5%.All of the shifts, in both the IDI and INSS polls,
were within the margin of error. In other words, it’s reasonable to say
support for the war has basically not budged at all.Why is that?
According to pollsters, it’s because of what Yovell said. Most Israelis
see Iran as a pressing, existential threat. And to defeat it, all
they’ve been asked to endure is a “deluxe war” where the risk of
casualty is low, and most, if not all, of life can continue as
normal.The latest IDI survey found that 79% of Jews feel somewhat or
very protected from Iran’s attacks. Among Arabs, the number was
15%.“Altogether, look, the economic situation is good overall, and
there’s a support system — now there’s the whole issue of
[government-backed] unpaid leave, and so on,” Tamar Hermann, academic
director of IDI’s Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy
Research, told The Times of Israel. “The medical system is working, only
the educational system is not. But stores are full of food. Public
transit is working.”She added at another point, “Whoever really thinks
Iran is an existential danger sees this as an action that has strategic
justification, right? This is a public whose resilience to these things
is very high.”omething else that sets this war apart from some others
Israelis have fought since October 7, 2023, is that in the case of Iran,
most Israelis appear to trust the government led by Netanyahu, who has
dedicated his career to warning of the threats posed by Iran.The INSS
survey found that more than 60% of coalition and opposition voters
“believe the political leadership is managing the campaign with security
interests as the top priority.”“People believe the Iran threat, it’s
not theoretical, it’s not just his brainwashing,” Dahlia Scheindlin, a
pollster, political analyst and Haaretz columnist, told The Times of
Israel. “Messaging over years only takes you so far, I think. People see
the reality that Iran really is a bad actor in the region.”In addition,
the two and a half years since October 7, 2023, may have accustomed
Israelis to life amid sirens. The continued high level of support, said
Scheindlin, isn’t surprising because the first couple weeks of a war
often come with a “rallying effect” that leads people to back their
country in wartime. Whoever really thinks Iran is an existential danger
sees this as an action that has strategic justification, right? This is a
public whose resilience to these things is very high.Hermann also said
the sky-high rates of support among Jews may be due to social
desirability bias, or the idea that you answer survey questions in ways
you believe are socially acceptable.“I think Israelis have really
habituated themselves to long wars at this point,” Scheindlin said. “And
I think also, you know, the buildup to this war has been years and
years of telling Israelis that this is a real huge, game-changing kind
of effort that has to be made.”Israelis believe that effort must be
undertaken, Hermann said, even if they don’t necessarily think Iran’s
regime will fall or that all of its threats will be indelibly
vanquished. Only 11% of respondents to the INSS poll, for example, think
the regime will topple.“Even if you say it’s impossible to achieve now,
that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to achieve it [in the future] if
you make progress in the operation,” she said.What could cause support
to decline? What could cause the support to flag? In short, Hermann
said, if the conditions that have made the war extremely popular and
kept Israelis relatively safe were to change. Both she and Scheindlin
pointed to the joint combat between Israel and the US as a reason many
Israelis back the war.“If many will get killed, if there’s going to be a
lot of damage, if the United States will pull out and Netanyahu will go
on, that could all certainly bring this down,” Hermann said.Scheindlin
pointed to indications in the second IDI survey that support for the war
has fallen, ever so slightly. The percentage of Jews who strongly
support the war has dipped from 74% to 68%. Among the sliver of Jewish
Israelis who identify as left-wing, support has declined from 76% to
68%.Pollster Dahlia Scheindlin. (Oren Ziv)“It’s a little bit notable to
me that after just two weeks of what could be a very long war, we’re
seeing an indication of a mild decline,” she said.She added later, “The
longer a war goes on, in general, the less the public supports it. And
so if you think about who’s gonna go first in terms of losing support,
it’s probably the left the longer it goes on.”But so far, Hermann noted,
there hasn’t been much political opposition to the war, despite the
sharp divides between Netanyahu and his critics. “The internal political
issue hasn’t entered into this arena,” she said.Eventually, Israelis
will want to be through with the fighting. But Scheindlin said that many
believe that peacetime, for now, is simply out of the question.“You
don’t need data to know that Israelis would like to not be living with
permanent war,” she said. “The question is whether they feel they have
that option, and if they feel that they don’t have the option because
they will be existentially destroyed.”She added, “They’ll just say,
‘Yeah, I mean, I would love to live in peace, but we have to defend our
country and defend our lives.’”
Israelis have a sense of meaning
and purpose'Despite war, Israel ranks 8th in global happiness survey,
same as last year-Findings reflect overall satisfaction with society and
life, says Bar-Ilan University researcher Anat Fanti, but concurrent
rise in distress levels also show psychological cost of conflict By
Diana Bletter-Today, 6:02 am-MAR
Despite another year of war on
several fronts, prolonged uncertainty and national trauma, Israel once
again ranked eighth in the World Happiness Report published on Thursday,
for the second year in a row.According to the annual survey, Finland
came in first for the ninth year in a row, while the United States was
at 23rd. The United Kingdom is in 29th place and France, 35th.“Israel’s
ranking has consistently gone up since 2021,” Anat Fanti, a happiness
policy researcher at the Program in Science, Technology and Society at
Bar-Ilan University, told The Times of Israel. “It doesn’t surprise me
because Israelis have a sense of meaning and purpose, which contributes
to their overall satisfaction with life.”The results were released as
many Israelis were hunkering down in bomb shelters, with schools closed,
limited flights in and out of the country and other daily restrictions
amid Iranian and Hezbollah missile and rocket attacks that have
repeatedly been aimed at Israel since war broke out on February 28.Fanti
said that the ranking represents the overall evaluation people have
about their life, which paints a larger picture, rather than their
emotions — whether negative or positive — which “come and go each
day.”Perhaps the most remarkable finding in this year’s report concerns
the younger generation.Israelis under the age of 25 were found to be the
happiest demographic within Israeli society, ranking third globally.
This stands in sharp contrast to other Western nations, she said.In the
US, for instance, the happiness of young people has plummeted to 60th
place. Other Israeli age groups also performed strongly, ranking
approximately 11th overall.“Young Israeli people are much more grounded
compared to their age group in other countries,” Fanti said. “They go to
the military service while their peer group goes to college, thinking
about where they will get booze under 21. They make decisions between 18
and 21 that are far beyond their years. Also, the level of social
support and genuine friendships in Israel are part of the social texture
of Israeli society.”Israel was ranked 12th in 2021 and rose to the top
10 the following year. In 2023, it was ranked fourth, and fell one place
in 2024, although that survey was based on data collected soon after
the unprecedented Hamas invasion and slaughter of October 7, 2023, which
triggered the ongoing wars. Each ranking also reflects the ranking of
the previous two years, when Israel was ranked highly.Fanti said the
World Happiness Report’s explanatory model is based on six parameters,
which experts use to explain the ranking. These include economic
stability, healthy life expectancy (reflecting healthcare quality),
social support (having someone to count on), charitable giving, a sense
of freedom to make personal decisions, generosity and perceptions of
corruption.For Fanti, the parameters within Israel that are not measured
in the report directly encompass “family ties, community, faith, a
sense of belonging and strong social bonds.”“In their latest book, ‘The
Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a
Turbulent World,’ Saul Singer and Dan Senor said Israelis have a
Thanksgiving dinner every Friday night and show their gratitude,” Fanti
explained. “It is one aspect of Israeli culture that helps Israelis
remain well above the global average.”The World Happiness Report data
are based on a three-year average. That means that this report is based
on 2023, 2024 and 2025.“The impact of the war may only be partially
reflected,” Fanti said. “Israel’s high ranking does not negate the
current emotional crisis but suggests that happiness indicators reflect
deeper societal layers rather than the turmoil of the moment.”However,
Fanti said that according to the report, Israel’s ranking for measures
of worry, sadness and anger worsened significantly, moving from 119th
place pre-October 7 to 39th in the world.“Israel’s result in this year’s
World Happiness Report does not erase the psychological and social cost
of the war,” Fanti said. “On the contrary, it highlights the gap
between the resilience of Israeli society and the difficult emotional
reality of daily life.”However, resilience might be eroded as trust in
state institutions continues to decline, with Israel falling to 107th
place in the perception of corruption indicator.“The rise in worry,
sadness and anger, together with the erosion of public trust, shows that
resilience needs to be reinforced by active policy aimed at rebuilding
public trust,” she said.Other Nordic countries are also once again at
the top of the happiness rankings this year, in the annual report
published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford.
After Finland, Iceland and Denmark are in second and third, and Sweden
is ranked fifth.Costa Rica is a newcomer, ranked fourth.Country rankings
were based on answers people gave when asked to rate their own lives.
The study was done in partnership with the analytics firm Gallup and the
UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Fanti said she confirmed
the statistics with data from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics.The
CBS found that overall life satisfaction among Israelis aged 20 plus
remained remarkably high at 91.1% through 2024, confirming the World
Happiness Report’s finding that Israelis tend to evaluate their lives as
good even during a crisis, Fanti said.However, the CBS also recorded a
sharp rise in clinical distress. The percentage of Israelis reporting
feelings of depression jumped from 25.5% in 2023 to 33.9% in 2024, and
stress levels rose from 58.2% to 67.9%“We cannot take for granted the
population’s resilience in the face of such difficult years,” Fanti
said. “The 2026 report shows that Israeli society is still very
strong.”However, she said it is crucial to “strengthen social and mental
health services, and reinforce the sources of cohesion that enable
Israeli society to endure even under difficult conditions.”“Resilience
is not forever,” she said.
Kuwait says 10 Hezbollah operatives
nabbed for alleged plot to attack ‘vital installations’Announcement
marks second time this week that the Gulf state has arrested a cell
affiliated with the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group-By AFP Today, 5:50
am-MAR 19,26
IKuwait arrested 10 militants affiliated with the
Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah terror group on Wednesday, who were
accused of plotting terrorist actions against vital infrastructure, the
interior ministry said.This was the second Hezbollah-affiliated cell to
be arrested in Kuwait this week, as the Gulf faced daily Iranian attacks
during the Middle East war, which has seen Tehran-backed groups
including Hezbollah join the conflict.“The State Security Agency has
successfully thwarted a plot for a terrorist operation targeting vital
installations,” the interior ministry said.“Ten citizens, members of a
terrorist group affiliated with the banned Hezbollah terrorist
organization were apprehended,” it added.The ministry shared a video of
seized items including Hezbollah flags, small drones and pictures of
Iran’s slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hezbollah’s former leader Hassan
Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli attack.On Monday, Kuwait’s interior
ministry said it arrested 16 people — 14 Kuwaitis and two Lebanese
nationals — affiliated with Hezbollah who had planned a “sabotage
plot.”The ministry said the group had sought to recruit individuals and
that it seized a number of weapons, camera drones and morse code
communication devices.Hezbollah denied that any of its members were
among the 16 arrested.In previous years, Lebanon has faced tensions with
Gulf states including Kuwait, which have expressed concern about
Hezbollah’s influence on the Mediterranean country.About one-third of
Kuwait’s local population belongs to the Shia branch of Islam, as do
most Iranians.Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when
Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme
leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.
Hamas
accuses Israel of targeting police force as group tightens grip on
Gaza-Group claims Israel hitting cops who are trying to maintain
security and stability, which Jerusalem rejects, saying it targets
terror operatives who pose active threat to its troopsBy Reuters 18
March 2026, 5:59 pm
Israel has killed nearly a dozen Gaza police
officers this week as it steps up attacks on the Hamas-run force that
the terror group has used to re-establish governance in areas under its
control, according to Hamas figures.Hamas’s nearly 10,000 police
officers have emerged as a major sticking point in talks to advance US
President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza. Hamas views them as separate
from its armed wing, which is expected to disarm under the plan, and
wants them included in a new police force envisioned under the
plan.Israel completely rejects the involvement of any officers with
Hamas affiliations and regards all elements of Hamas, including its
police, as components of the terrorist organization.Trump’s plan calls
for the Islamist terror group to lay down its weapons and hand over
governance to a committee of Palestinian technocrats who would manage
Gaza’s police as Israeli troops withdraw. Talks on disarming Hamas have
been delayed by the US-Israeli war with Iran, Reuters has reported.Hamas
takes precautions to protect its police-On the ground in Gaza, mostly
unarmed officers dressed in navy police uniforms patrol the streets in
the seafront sliver of Gaza where Hamas retained control under an
October ceasefire following two years of war.Officers could be seen
directing traffic and patrolling markets and tent encampments in Gaza
City on Monday.Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza
government media office, said Israel had killed more than 2,800 Gaza
police officers since October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led
terrorists launched their deadly invasion of southern Israel, triggering
the war in GazaDozens of Hamas police officers have been killed since
the ceasefire, including at least 10 since the start of the US-Israeli
war with Iran on February 28, Thawabta said.To try to avoid more losses,
he said, “operational orders and precautionary measures” had been
issued “to reduce risks to police personnel, including reorganizing
movements and deployments.” He gave no further details.Israel says its
attacks in Gaza that have struck and killed police officers have been
aimed at eliminating threats to its troops from Hamas. Israeli troops
remain deployed in the roughly 53% of Gaza under Israel’s control.In
Israel’s most recent strikes, Gaza medics said nine police officers were
killed in an airstrike on a car in Zawayda in central Gaza on
Sunday.The bombed-out remnants of the car, stained with blood, were left
on the street, surrounded by destroyed buildings.The Israel Defense
Forces said it had struck an armed Hamas cell that it said was planning
to carry out an attack on Israeli troops, and that six people were
killed.Neither Hamas nor the IDF responded immediately to a request for
comment on the discrepancy in the death figures.‘Strikes aim to disrupt
Hamas’ security efforts’Palestinian political analyst Reham Owda said
Israel’s attacks on Gaza police highlighted Israeli concerns about Hamas
tightening its grip on Gaza in areas under its control.“These strikes
aim to disrupt Hamas’s security efforts in the territory and convey a
clear message that Israel will not accept any expanded security role for
Hamas within Gaza,” Owda told Reuters.Israel has insisted that Hamas
completely disarm and has warned that should it fail to do so, Israel
will resume its military offensive to do so.Gaza’s Hamas-run health
ministry says at least 670 people have been killed by Israeli fire
since the October ceasefire. Four IDF soldiers have been killed in Gaza
in the same period.Hamas police officers in the streets of the Gaza
Strip, as seen in footage published by the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.
March 2026.On Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike killed a local armed Hamas
commander, Mohammad Abu Shahla, in Khan Younis in the south, Hamas and
medics said, and overnight, two men on a motorbike shot and wounded a
senior Hamas police officer in Gaza City. Hamas blamed that attack on
“Israeli collaborators.”Israel did not immediately comment on the
incidents.Abdallah Al-Araisha, a Palestinian living in a tent encampment
in Gaza City, said the police had been helping to fight crime and
protect people across Gaza, where most of the population of over 2
million is internally displaced.“Without the police, we would be
ruined,” Araisha said.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
