WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 17 - IRAN TRYS TO SKYROCKET OIL.
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)
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)
Seizing Iran’s uranium could take ‘largest special forces operation in history’ – WSJ-Upward of 1,000 personnel could be required on-site to secure Isfahan facility, amid Iranian missile and drone fire, to dig through rubble for near-weapons grade nuclear material By ToI Staff Today, 10:35 am-MAR 16,26
A military operation to seize Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium would require “the largest special forces operation in history,” The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing US and Israeli security experts.When American and Israeli fighter jets bombed three of the Islamic Republic’s key nuclear sites last June, the regime was believed to have had some 440 kilograms of 60 percent-enriched uranium — a short step away from weapons-grade material, enough for an estimated ten nuclear bombs.Another almost 200 kilograms, at 20% enriched, were also believed to be in the regime’s possession. Weapons-grade uranium is 90%-enriched.International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said last week that around half of the 60%-enriched uranium was stored in a tunnel complex at the Isfahan nuclear site. A report earlier this month said the US believes there is a “very narrow access point” through which the material could potentially be retrieved.Seizing the uranium amid the war would require a major operation, which former NATO commander James Stavridis told the Journal could be “the largest special operations forces in history.”The daily, citing former military officials, reported that upward of 1,000 military personnel would have to be present on-site.Combat troops would need to secure perimeters while engineers dug through tons of debris while checking for mines and booby traps, the newspaper reported.To deliver the equipment to the site and move the recovered material out of the country, a local airfield would be required, and if none was available, a makeshift airfield would have to be set up as part of the operation, the report said.And forces would likely come under drone and missile fire, requiring ground forces and planes to ward off the attacks.Also noted in the report was the possibility of diluting or destroying the material rather than removing it, though this would bring the risk of contaminating the area.On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS: “Our nuclear facilities were attacked, and everything is under the rubble.”He said the regime has no plan to recover the material, but also that it is not willing to negotiate about the stockpile’s future while under fire.US President Donald Trump, asked last week if there is a plan in place to seize the stockpiled uranium, told Fox News radio, “No, not at all.”“We’re not focused on that. But at some point we might be,” he said. “Right now we’re focused on knocking the hell out of their missiles and their drones.”A longstanding dispute over Iran’s nuclear program escalated into military conflict on February 28, with the US and Israel launching strikes against Iran and the Islamic Republic responding with attacks across the Middle East.Tehran, which routinely calls for the destruction of Israel, maintains that its nuclear program is for purely civilian purposes. However, before the June war, Iran had been enriching uranium to levels far beyond what’s necessary for any peaceful application, and consistently obstructed international inspectors from checking its facilities. Israel has also said Iran was taking steps toward weaponization.Agencies contributed to this report.
Drone sparks fire at UAE's Fujairah oil industry zone-Iran hits Gulf neighbors, keeps stranglehold on oil shipping, fueling energy crisis fears-Dubai Airport temporarily closed, passengers evacuated to lower floor after drone strike sets fuel tank on fire; Saudi crown prince said to be urging Trump to keep hitting Iran hard-By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 9:38 am-MAR 16,26
Dubai was forced to temporarily close its airport early Monday after an Iranian drone hit a fuel tank and a major refinery was on fire as Iran maintained its attacks on its Gulf neighbors, heightening fears of a global oil crisis.Since being attacked by the United States and Israel more than two weeks ago, Iran has been regularly hitting Israel, American bases, and its Gulf Arab neighbors’ energy infrastructure and other key infrastructure targets with drones and missiles.It has also effectively stopped shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported, giving rise to growing fears of a global energy crisis and putting pressure on Washington as consumers are already feeling the pain at the pump.Brent crude oil, the international standard, remained stubbornly over $100 a barrel on Monday. It was at $104 in early trading, up nearly 45 percent since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. It has spiked as high as about $120 during the conflict.US President Donald Trump said he has made demands to about seven countries to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, but his appeals have brought no commitments. His party is growingly concerned that rising prices for American consumers will hurt the Republicans in elections this fall.“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory,” Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington from Florida aboard Air Force One. He did not identify the countries, but has previously appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea, and Britain.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called claims that his country may be seeking a negotiated end to the war “delusional,” saying in a social media post early Monday that his country was seeking neither “truce nor talks.”“Our Powerful Armed Forces will keep firing until POTUS realizes that illegal war he’s imposing on both Americans and Iranians is wrong and must never be repeated,” he wrote on X.Iran hits Dubai airport, forcing temporary closure-As morning broke Monday, a drone hit a fuel tank near Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international passenger traffic, causing a large fire.Firefighters were able to contain the blaze and there were no injuries reported, but the airport temporarily suspended all flights. UAE airline Emirates, which uses the airport as its main hub, said all of its flights were “suspended until further notice.”⚡️#BREAKING Fires erupt in Dubai following Iranian drone strikes pic.twitter.com/sBDs9JX809 — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 16, 2026-Later, the UAE’s Defense Ministry said its forces were working to intercept another round of Iranian missiles and drones.“UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran,” the ministry posted on X. It noted that “sounds heard” were from air defense systems intercepting missiles and drones.“Dubai Civil Aviation Authority announces the temporary suspension of flights at Dubai International Airport as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of all passengers and staff,” the Gulf financial hub’s media office posted on X.Emirates told passengers in a statement on X not to come to the airport and said it was working with authorities “to assess the situation and support the safe resumption of operations when possible.”The national carrier said in a later post it expected to operate a “limited schedule” after 10:00 am Dubai time (0600 GMT) and that some flights had been cancelled.Dubai’s police said the main road to the airport had been temporarily closed to traffic.The airport operator later said flights were resuming.“Flights to and from DXB are gradually resuming to selected destinations, following the temporary suspension implemented as a precautionary measure,” Dubai Airports said in a statement on X.The latest incident near what is usually the world’s busiest airport for international travel affected a fuel tank, the Dubai media office said, later adding that authorities had contained a fire that broke out and reporting no injuries.Two witnesses told AFP they saw a thick plume of black smoke rising from the direction of the airport at around 10:00 local Dubai time, hours after the incident.A witness at Dubai airport told AFP that passengers awaiting their flights had been evacuated to a lower floor after the attack for several hours.“It has been a difficult few weeks hearing explosions regularly, but the Iranian attacks followed me in my last hours before I could fly back home,” the witness added.Another drone attack on the UAE’s east coast Fujairah oil industry zone sparked a fire, authorities said.“A large fire broke out in the Fujairah Oil Industries Zone as a result of being targeted by a drone, with no injuries reported,” Fujairah authorities said, adding “efforts continue to bring it under control”.The site sits on the UAE’s Gulf of Oman coast, beyond the Strait of Hormuz.Iran has fired over 1,800 missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates, more than any other country targeted by Tehran in the Middle East war, upending travel plans in the financial hub despite its air defense intercepting a vast majority of the projectiles. Debris and some drones have fallen inside the country.Iran has also fired hundreds of missiles and drones toward Gulf countries hosting US military assets since the war began, as well as at Israel.Iranian officials have recently accused the UAE of allowing its territory to be used for attacks against Iran. Emirati officials have rejected the allegations as misleading and said the country’s actions have been defensive.Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said it had intercepted a wave of 35 Iranian drones sent at its eastern region, home to major oil installations.Despite the attacks, Saudi Arabia was reported to be encouraging the US to keep hitting Iran hard.Several officials told the New York Times that Trump was speaking regularly to Gulf leaders, particularly Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, who had been urging him to continue the strikes.The report said Bin Salman was “essentially repeating the advice that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who died in 2015, repeatedly gave to Washington: ‘Cut off the head of the snake.'”Israel’s military said early Monday that Iran launched missiles toward Israel as well.Israel’s military says Iran is firing cluster bombs that can evade some air defenses and indiscriminately scatter submunitions across multiple locations.Trump threatens to ‘remember’ which allies do not help-On Air Force One, Trump wouldn’t say which countries could be part of the coalition he wants to police the Strait of Hormuz to provide security for oil tankers and other commercial ships passing through.But he said he won’t forget the countries that decline to help. He named British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who he said initially declined to put British aircraft carriers “into harm’s way.”“Whether we get support or not, but I can say this, and I said to them: We will remember,” Trump said.On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament that her government “has not heard anything” from Washington about Trump’s call for ships to help protect the Strait of Hormuz.Japan imports more than 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East, however, and she said there had been discussions about what could be done to protect Japanese ships “regardless of a US request.”Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said he has no plans to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz under the current safety conditions.Japan on Monday began releasing its oil reserves to address concerns about supply shortages and rising prices.Trump has speculated that prices would fall, but wouldn’t directly answer whether his administration is talking about selling oil futures as a way to cap surging oil prices, something his interior secretary had mentioned as a possibility.“The prices are going to come tumbling down as soon as it’s over. And it’s going to be over pretty quickly,” he told reporters.
Trump reportedly weighs seizing Iran's Kharg Island oil hub-Lauding Israeli help, Trump intensifies pressure on China, others to help secure Hormuz Strait-US leader warns NATO faces ‘very bad’ future if allies fail to pitch in, but countries avoid committing, even as Trump said aiming to declare coalition this week; US officials predict war’s end within weeks By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 6:39 am-MAR 16,26
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has demanded about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, though his appeals have brought no commitments as oil prices soar during the Iran war.While noting that Israel has been working with the United States to secure the waterway where about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil normally flows, the president declined to name the countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude that the administration is negotiating with to join a coalition to police the strait.“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory,” Trump said about the strait, claiming the shipping channel is not something the United States needs because of its own access to oil. Trump spoke while answering reporters’ questions as he flew back to Washington from Florida aboard Air Force One.Trump said China gets about 90 percent of its oil from the strait, while the US gets a minimal amount. He declined to discuss whether China will join the coalition.“It would be nice to have other countries police that with us, and we’ll help. We’ll work with them,” Trump said. Previously, he has appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain.US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC earlier Sunday that he has been “in dialogue” with some of the countries Trump had mentioned previously, and said he expected China “will be a constructive partner” in reopening the strait.Escalating his rhetoric in an interview with the Financial Times, Trump warned that NATO faced a “very bad” future if US allies fail to assist in opening up the shipping route, and suggested he could delay his summit with China’s President Xi Jinping later this month.“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump told the British newspaper.Both The Wall Street Journal and Axios reported that Trump was planning to announce the formation of such a multinational coalition as early as this week. Axios added, citing unnamed US officials, that Trump was also mulling the option of seizing Iran’s key oil depot on Kharg Island — which the US bombed over the weekend — if Tehran continues to deny oil tankers passage through the strait, a move that would require American boots on the ground.Countries are cautious after Trump’s call-But despite Trump’s intense lobbying over the past few days, countries have made no public promises to join a coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz.Britain said Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday discussed with Trump the importance of reopening the strait “to end the disruption to global shipping,” and spoke with Canada’s prime minister about it separately.Aboard Air Force One, Trump specifically named Starmer, who he said initially declined to put British aircraft carriers “into harm’s way.”“Whether we get support or not, but I can say this, and I said to them: We will remember,” Trump said.A spokesperson for China’s embassy to the US, Liu Pengyu, said previously that “all parties have the responsibility to ensure stable and unimpeded energy supply” and that China would “strengthen communication with relevant parties” for de-escalation.South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it “takes note” of Trump’s call and that it “will closely coordinate and carefully review” the situation with the US.Expectations are high that Trump will ask Japan directly when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets him on Thursday at the White House. But Takaichi said Monday that any maritime security operation would be “extremely difficult legally,” and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told parliament that “in the current Iran situation, we are not at the moment considering issuing a maritime security operation.”France previously said it is working with countries — President Emmanuel Macron mentioned partners in Europe, India and Asia — on a possible international mission to escort ships through the strait, but has stressed it must be when “the circumstances permit,” when fighting has subsided.Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul of Germany, which was not mentioned in Trump’s call, told ARD television: “Will we soon be an active part of this conflict? No.”And Australia’s Transport Minister Catherine King told national broadcaster ABC Monday: “We won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is but that’s not something we’ve been asked or we’re contributing to.”US officials predict war’s end within weeks-US officials responding to economic uncertainty over high oil prices predicted on Sunday that the war on Iran would end within weeks and that a drop in energy costs would follow, despite Iran’s assertion that it remains “stable and strong” and ready to defend itself.With crude oil prices hovering around $100 a barrel, Trump administration officials insisted Sunday that all signs point to a relatively quick end to the conflict.“This conflict will certainly come to the end in the next few weeks — could be sooner than that,” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told ABC’s “This Week” program.Trump himself, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, did not put a timeframe on concluding the war but said oil prices “are going to come tumbling down as soon as it’s over, and it’s going to be over pretty quick.”But the US president said he saw no reason to declare victory yet.“I think I just say they’re decimated.” Trump told reporters. “If we left right now, it would take them 10 years or more to rebuild, but I’m still not declaring it over.”He added that Washington has been in contact with Iran, but expressed doubt that Tehran is prepared for serious negotiations to end the conflict.“I don’t think they are ready,” he said.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier told CBS that Tehran has been “approached by a number of countries” seeking safe passage for their vessels, “and this is up to our military to decide.” He said a group of vessels from “different countries” had been allowed to pass, without providing details.Iran has said the strait is open to all except theUnited States and its allies.Araghchi added that “we don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans” about finding a way to end the war, noting that Israel and the US started the fighting with coordinated attacks on February 28 during indirect US-Iran talks on Iran’s nuclear program. He also said Tehran had “no plan to recover” the enriched uranium that is under rubble following US and Israeli attacks last year.Meanwhile, emergency oil stocks “will soon start flowing to global markets,” the International Energy Agency said Sunday, describing the collective action to lower prices “by far the largest ever.”It updated last week’s announcement of 400 million barrels to nearly 412 million. Asian member countries plan to release stocks “immediately,” and reserves from Europe and the Americas will be released “from the end of March.”Trump didn’t directly answer whether his administration is talking about selling oil futures as a way to cap surging oil prices.“The prices are going to come tumbling down as soon as it’s over. And it’s going to be over pretty quickly,” he told reporters.
IDF reports hitting 200 targets in western Iran-Iran FM claims Tehran never sought ceasefire or talks with US amid war-Araghchi says Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile lies ‘under the rubble’ after strikes, with no plan to recover it; claims Hormuz open except to US allies-By Nava Freiberg,Lazar Berman-and Emanuel Fabian-15 March 2026, 11:26 pm
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran had neither requested a ceasefire nor sought negotiations with Washington amid the ongoing war with the United States and Israel, despite US President Donald Trump claiming Tehran appeared ready to agree on terms unsuitable to Washington.“No, we never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes,” Araghchi said in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation.He also rejected the assessment that the conflict represented a “war of survival” for Iran, arguing that his country was “stable and strong enough.”“We are only defending our people from [this] act of aggression,” he said.In the same interview, Araghchi said Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium was now buried “under the rubble,” following US and Israeli strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities last June.Iran’s estimated 440 kilograms of enriched uranium — enriched to up to 60 percent fissile purity, which can relatively easily be raised to the 90% level considered weapons-grade — were believed to be stored deep underground at the Isfahan nuclear site.“Our nuclear facilities were attacked, and everything is under the rubble,” Araghchi said.He acknowledged that the material could potentially be retrieved, but said Tehran currently had no plan to do so.“Of course, you know there is the possibility to retrieve them, but under the supervision of the [International Atomic Energy Agency],” he said. “If one day we come to the conclusion to do that, it would be under the supervision of the agency. But for the time being, we have no program. We have no plan to recover them from under the rubble.”Washington had demanded that Iran relinquish the stockpile in nuclear talks that were halted by the bombing campaign. Trump said last week that he would consider sending ground troops in the future to secure the material.Araghchi suggested that the issue could become part of future negotiations, but said that, for now, Tehran was not prepared to put the matter on the table.“Everything depends on the future,” he said. “If any time in the future we decide to enter into negotiation with US or other interlocutors, you know, we may decide what to put on the table. For the time being, nothing is on the table.”Araghchi also said that multiple countries have approached Tehran to negotiate the safe passage of oil and gas vessels through the Strait of Hormuz amid Iran’s efforts to block the strategic passage point.“We are open to countries who want to talk to us about the safe passage of their vessels,” Araghchi said, though he declined to name which countries had approached Iran to win safe passage for their vessels.The Financial Times reported that France and Italy had contacted Iran to try to arrange passage for their ships.“This is up to our military to decide, and they have already decided to let, you know, a group of vessels belongs to different countries to pass in a safe and secure,” he continued, repeating claims by Iranian officials that certain countries were permitted to pass ships through the strait, while adding that some of these countries were, by choice, “not coming themselves because of the insecurity which is there, because of the aggression by the US.”In a separate interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz remained open, but only to countries other than “America and its allies.”Araghchi also justified Iran’s hundreds of strikes on its neighbors in the Persian Gulf region and beyond, claiming that it is only targeting American bases situated in these countries.“We did not attack any residential or civilian targets,” he said. “There may have been collateral damage in residential areas, which is normal in any war.”Iranian drones and missiles have been fired at civilian infrastructure in the UAE and other US allies, including Dubai’s airport, landmark hotels and the financial hub.Araghchi also boasted about striking Citibank offices in Manama and in Dubai in response to a US strike on an Iranian bank in Tehran that is used to pay Iranian security forces.He also blamed the US and Israel for strikes on Arab states, claiming that Iran had “recently received information indicating that the United States and Israel are also launching attacks from specific locations toward Arab countries.”His remarks came as the IDF said a wave of strikes in the Hamedan area of western Iran targeted several headquarters belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij paramilitary force.The IDF said it was “expanding” its strikes against Iranian regime infrastructure in western and central Iran, “with the aim of broadly and systematically damaging the regime’s command and control capabilities.”The Israeli Air Force struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran over the past day, the military said.According to the IDF, the targets included command centers manned by Iranian soldiers, as well as air defense systems and weapons storage and production sites.
Trump said briefed on US intel showing Ali Khamenei thought his son ‘not very bright,’ unfit to lead-US president reportedly unmoved by briefing as he believes Mojtaba may be dead already, leaving Iran leaderless again; Kuwaiti outlet claims he was smuggled out of Iran to Russia-By Nava Freiberg-and ToI Staff 15 March 2026, 11:04 pm
US President Donald Trump was briefed recently on American intelligence showing that Iran’s late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was wary about his son Mojtaba Khamenei replacing him as ruler in the event of his death, according to a Sunday report.Sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that the elder Khamenei’s fears stemmed from the perception that Mojtaba, who was recently named as his father’s successor, was “not very bright, and was viewed as unqualified to be leader,” as well as from an awareness that Mojtaba had “issues in his personal life.”The report came as the newly elected 56-year-old supreme leader has remained conspicuously absent from the public eye in the week since he was elected, fueling rumors of injury or death, or that he has fled Iran.The only public comments attributed to him since he was elected on March 8 were delivered in the form of a statement read out by a television presenter on Thursday.The sources cited by CBS were said to include people within the Trump administration, the US intelligence community, and figures close to the president. The outlet said both Trump and Vice President JD Vance had been briefed on the intelligence information.In a possible reference to the intelligence he was allegedly briefed on, Trump told Fox News in an interview on Friday night that Khamenei was “not somebody that the father even wanted.”According to CBS, Trump has told people close to him that he is not putting too much weight on the intelligence briefing, as he already considered Iran to be “essentially leaderless,” and believes Mojtaba, like his father, may already be dead.Other US officials have voiced similar opinions, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who on Friday said Khamenei was “wounded and likely disfigured.”On Friday, the US announced that it was offering a reward of up to $10 million for information about Khamenei, as well as several other senior Iranian military and intelligence officials.Iran has fiercely denied any suggestion that all may not be well with the new supreme leader, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi telling the pan-Arab Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news outlet on Sunday that he “is in excellent health” and “in control of the situation, and present at his post.”“The timing of televised messages or direct appearances before the people is his prerogative,” he said.Araghchi made similar remarks a day earlier, insisting that there was “no problem” with Khamenei, and that he “will perform his duties.”These assurances have not convinced everyone.On Sunday, citing “a senior source close to the new Iranian leader,” Kuwait’s Al-Jarida news outlet reported that Khamenei had been smuggled out of Iran in a secretive Russian operation on Thursday to receive medical treatment in Moscow for injuries sustained in the same airstrikes that killed his father and wife on the first day of the ongoing US-Israeli offensive.The report alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed bringing Khamenei to Russia for treatment to ensure that he would be able to recover properly, without being targeted by Israeli and American airstrikes.He was accompanied to Russia by a team of Iranian doctors, the report said.The newspaper further cited a source close to Khamenei as saying that not only did the new supreme leader not write the statement that was delivered by a television presenter last week, but that he did not even see it before it was read out.The source suggested that it may have been written by Iran’s national security chief, Ali Larijani, as it was nearly identical to several statements he has put out in recent days.
Iran wants ‘serious review’ of Arab Gulf ties, denies role in Saudi oil attacks-Tehran’s ambassador to Riyadh says Gulf countries must reduce reliance on external powers, deepen regional ties despite tensions from US-Israel war on Iran-By Timour Azhari 15 March 2026, 8:57 pm
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) — Iran’s relations with Arab Gulf states will require a “serious review” in light of the US-Israeli war on Iran, limiting the power of external actors so the region can become prosperous, Tehran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia told Reuters on Sunday.Asked if he was concerned that relations would be harmed by the war, Ambassador Alireza Enayati said: “It’s a valid question, and the answer may be simple. We are neighbors, and we cannot do without each other; we will need a serious review.”“What the region has witnessed over the past five decades is the result of an exclusionary approach [within the region] and an excessive reliance on external powers,” he said in a written response to questions, calling for deeper ties between the Gulf Cooperation Council’s six members, along with Iraq and Iran.Gulf Arab states have faced more than 2,000 missile and drone attacks since the outbreak of the war on February 28, with targets including US diplomatic missions and military bases, but also critical Gulf oil infrastructure, ports, airports, hotels, and residential and office buildings.The United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Iran’s arch-foe Israel in 2020, has faced the brunt of the attacks. But all Gulf Arab states have been impacted, and all have condemned Iran.Behind the scenes, analysts and regional sources say there is also growing frustration at the US, their longtime security guarantor, for dragging them into a war they did not endorse, but for which they are paying a hefty price.In Saudi Arabia, attacks have been concentrated on the eastern region, where most of the kingdom’s oil is produced, as well as the Prince Sultan Airbase hosting US forces east of Riyadh, and the Diplomatic Quarter on the Saudi capital’s western edge, according to Saudi defense ministry statements.Saudi Arabia and Iran re-established full diplomatic relations in 2023 after years of enmity that saw them back rival political and military factions across the region.Iran ‘not responsible’ for attacks on Saudi oil sector-Enayati denied that Iran was responsible for the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, including the Ras Tanura refinery on the east coast and dozens of attempted drone attacks on the Shaybah oil field in the desert near the UAE border.“Iran is not the party responsible for these attacks, and if Iran had carried them out, it would have announced it,” he said. He did not say who had carried out the attacks.Saudi Defense Ministry statements have not assigned blame for individual incidents. Enayati said Iran was only attacking US and Israeli targets and interests.Enayati said he personally was in ongoing contact with Saudi officials, with relations “progressing naturally” in many areas. He highlighted Saudi cooperation regarding the departure of Iranians who were in the kingdom for religious pilgrimage and the provision of medical assistance to others.He said Tehran was in contact with Riyadh regarding Saudi Arabia’s publicly stated position that its land, sea, and air would not be used to attack Iran, without elaborating on the discussions.His message to Gulf states was that the war “has been imposed on us and the region.”To resolve the conflict, the US and Israel must halt their attacks, and regional countries should not be involved, while international guarantees must be secured to prevent their recurrence, he said.“Only then can we focus on building a prosperous region,” he said.
IDF: Iran can't currently produce any new missiles-IDF planning 3 more weeks of operations to systematically degrade Iran’s defense industry-Officials say military operating ahead of schedule, but still has thousands more targets to hit; IDF claims to see declining morale among Iranian soldiers-By Emanuel Fabian-15 March 2026, 5:59 pm
The Israel Defense Forces’ campaign in the joint war with the United States against Iran is proceeding according to plan, and at a faster pace than initially expected, military officials said on Sunday, with strikes on Iran’s defense industries expected to further ramp up alongside ongoing efforts to reduce missile fire on Israel.Despite being apparently ahead of schedule, the military has said it is preparing for at least three more weeks of operations in Iran, as it still has thousands more targets to hit, both in Tehran and in other parts of the country.“We have thousands of targets ahead,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told CNN on Sunday. “We are ready, in coordination with our US allies, with plans through at least the Jewish holiday of Passover, about three weeks from now. And we have deeper plans for even three weeks beyond that.”Following Israel’s decapitation strikes that opened the war on February 28, killing Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and more than 40 top Iranian officials, and subsequent strikes on ballistic missile launchers and air defense systems, the IDF is now focusing its efforts on destroying Iran’s military industry, according to the officials.The officials said that the current campaign against Iran is different from the 12-day war in June 2025, and far more extensive.During the previous war, Israel sought to counter the “existential threat” of Iran imminently developing a nuclear weapon, as well as its ramped-up production of ballistic missiles. The current war has given the IDF an opportunity to not only remove the “existential Iranian threat” to Israel, but also Iran’s “strategic threat” on the Jewish state “for the foreseeable future,” the officials said.Therefore, the IDF is seeking to systematically degrade Iran’s entire defense industry, including its ballistic missile capabilities, in addition to its nuclear program.The defense industry of Iran is extensive, with numerous military bodies and private companies manufacturing weapon systems — or components — including ballistic missiles, air defenses, naval weapons, cyber capabilities, and even spy satellites.Israel has targeted Iran’s military industry in the past, including in October 2024 when the Israeli Air Force bombed planetary mixers used to make solid fuel used in long-range ballistic missiles. During the 12-day war in June 2025, Israel again struck various sites used by Iran to build ballistic missiles, air defense systems, and other weapons.Now, the officials said, the IDF would not spare a single facility used by Iran to develop weapons, along the entire production chain. So far, during the ongoing war, Israel has hit over 1,700 assets of Iran’s military industry, and it has many hundreds more on its list.This includes the larger firms that are part of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — which manufacture Iran’s ballistic missiles and other weapons — as well as smaller companies that develop various components.The officials said that these strikes have caused significant damage to Iran’s ballistic missile production industry, and as a result, it currently does not have the ability to manufacture any new missiles.Israel has also been targeting Iran’s nuclear program, striking numerous targets related to the development of atomic weapons, including research and development sites and companies building various components.Meanwhile, the officials said, strikes in Iran continue to also focus on “centers of power,” including headquarters and command centers of the regime’s protest repression forces — the internal security forces and Basij paramilitary force.The IDF has estimated that between 4,000 and 5,000 Iranian soldiers have been killed in Israeli strikes, along with tens of thousands more wounded, many of them members of the internal security forces and Basij.The military has also identified declining morale among Iranian soldiers, refusal to serve in some cases, and desertion, according to the officials.This phenomenon has mainly taken place in Iran’s ballistic missile array, according to the officials, who said that strikes against manned command centers and replacement headquarters have led to a drastic reduction in missile fire toward Israel in recent days.The IAF has also continued to “hunt down” Iran’s missile launchers, reporting that it destroyed dozens in recent days, including some armed for attacks on Israel.So far, the military has claimed to have destroyed or disabled around 70 percent of Iran’s estimated 500 ballistic missile launchers, though it is believed to be relatively simple for Iran to build new launchers, as it did following the June 2025 war.Strikes also continue against Iran’s air defense systems. Within 24 hours of the war, the IDF reported achieving aerial superiority in parts of Iran, which enabled large-scale strikes in Tehran and other areas with a lower risk to Israeli fighter jet pilots.The military officials said that the IAF now has air supremacy in most of Iran’s airspace, after taking out more than 100 air defense systems and around 120 detection systems.The officials also said the IDF would continue to operate against the Quds Force, the extraterritorial arm of the IRGC, both in Iran and in Lebanon.Israel launched its campaign against Iran, alongside the US, to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran, and “create the conditions” for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said.
Iran fires 7 more missile salvos at Israel, attacks Gulf; IDF launches ‘extensive’ strikes-At least eight injured in missile attacks as cluster munitions cause widespread damage; IRGC threatens to ‘pursue and kill’ Netanyahu; US orders evacuations from Oman, Iraq By Emanuel Fabian,Diana Bletter,Agencies and ToI Staff 15 March 2026, 2:00 pm
Iran fired seven missile salvos at Israel overnight Saturday and into Sunday wounding at least eight people and kept up its attacks on countries across the Gulf as the Israel Defense Forces launched a new wave of “extensive” strikes targeting Iranian regime infrastructure in the country’s west.An Iranian missile rained cluster bomb munitions across a swath of central Israel wounding four people.In Bnei Brak, a man in his 60s was moderately hurt after a suspected cluster bomb munition struck an apartment building. In Ramat Gan, a man in his 70s was lightly hurt by a blast following another impact, and two women, aged 46 and 18, were lightly hurt in Petah Tikvah, the Magen David Adom rescue service said.Two people were lightly injured in an earlier attack shortly before noon. The pair, two men in their 50s, were hurt in central Israel, MDA said, after a missile carrying a cluster bomb warhead spread submunitions across the area. Damage and fires were caused at multiple sites in central Israel by the cluster munitions, according to rescue services.And in the early morning, two people were lightly injured in Holon, in central Israel. MDA said a man in his 80s received medical treatment at the scene for light injuries caused by glass shards, and a woman, also in her 80s, was being treated for symptoms of smoke inhalation.Sunday’s Iranian missile launches targeted central and southern Israel sending millions repeatedly running for shelters. Northern Israel, meanwhile, has been under continual rocket and drone fire from the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, which joined the fighting on March 2 to support its sponsor, Iran.Footage published by the police showed one of the cluster bomb munitions from an Iranian ballistic missile striking central Israel.Footage published by the police shows one of the cluster bomb munitions from an Iranian ballistic missile striking central Israel. pic.twitter.com/qvnWIXlr4v Advertisement — Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 15, 2026-Iran has launched multiple ballistic missiles at Israel carrying cluster bomb warheads during the ongoing conflict, indiscriminately spreading small bombs in wide areas of the country.On Sunday morning, the Health Ministry reported that over the past 24 hours, 108 injured people had been taken to hospitals as a result of the conflict with Iran. Of those, two were in moderate condition and 96 were in good condition. Nine people have been treated for anxiety. Some were injured running to shelters and the number includes soldiers.The war, now in its third week, showed few signs of slowing. US President Donald Trump rebuffed efforts to start negotiations on an end to the fighting and threatened further strikes on a key Iranian hub for exporting oil.And after Iran’s supreme leader was killed on the first day of US-Israeli strikes on February 28, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to kill Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.“If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force,” said the Guards on their website, Sepah News, on Sunday.Meanwhile, Iran’s army said on Sunday it had targeted a police unit and a satellite communications center in Israel with drone strikes.In a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency, the army said “it has targeted the security centers and police headquarters of the Zionist terrorist regime, including the regime’s special police unit called ‘Lahav 433’ and the ‘Gilat Defense’ satellite communications center with powerful drone attacks.”There were no reports of any drone impacts in Israel.The Israeli Air Force, meanwhile, said it had launched a new wave of “extensive” airstrikes in western Iran. The military said the strikes targeted Iranian regime infrastructure sites.Saudi Arabia says 10 Iranian drones destroyed over Riyadh-The fighting continued to envelop the Gulf nations neighboring Iran. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates reported fresh Iranian missile attacks on Sunday, while Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said its systems intercepted and destroyed 10 drones over the capital, Riyadh, and the kingdom’s eastern region.Bahrain said that since the beginning of the war, its air defenses have intercepted 125 missiles and 211 drones. The small island nation — home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet — has been among the most affected by Iranian strikes, which have hit ports, a hotel, a refinery and a water desalination plant. At least person has been killed in the strikes.In the wake of the strikes across the region, the US State Department said it ordered non-emergency government employees and the family members of government employees to leave Oman, citing safety risks. And following an overnight missile attack on the US embassy in Baghdad, the embassy said US citizens should leave Iraq immediately.“US citizens choosing to remain in Iraq are strongly encouraged to reconsider in light of the significant threat posed by Iran-aligned terrorist militia groups,” the embassy said.Although its missiles have hit civilian areas, Iran’s foreign minister denied on Sunday that Iran has targeted civilian or residential areas in the Middle East. He said Tehran is ready to form a committee with its neighbors to investigate the responsibility for such strikes.Gulf countries have called upon Iran to cease its attacks on their territories, which have not only sustained strikes on US military bases but also damage to energy facilities and residential areas.Abbas Araghchi’s Telegram channel quoted him as saying in an interview with the Al-Araby al-Jadeed website that Tehran was in communication with various Gulf capitals and would welcome any initiative that could guarantee a complete end to the US-Israeli war on Iran.Araghchi also told his French counterpart that countries must refrain from any action that could escalate the conflict in the Middle East. The comment came after Trump called upon various states, including France, to deploy vessels to help secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked by Iran.Iran arrests 20 for allegedly cooperating with Israel-The war began more than a month after an Iranian government crackdown on mass anti-regime protests killed thousands, with activist groups saying the true toll is in the tens of thousands. Israel and the United States have repeatedly hoped for regime change as a result of the war,Iran appointed Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, as his successor last week. It has vowed to continue combating anti-government activity in the country.The country’s Tasnim news agency reported that 20 people were arrested in northwestern Iran for allegedly attempting to cooperate with Israel, citing a statement by the West Azerbaijan province’s prosecutor’s office.They stand accused of sending location details on Iran’s military and security assets to Israel. Iran frequently arrests people and accuses them of spying without providing evidence.Israel has launched a new phase of its assault on Iran, targeting security checkpoints based on tip-offs from informants on the ground, a source briefed on Israel’s military strategy told Reuters last week.
FM Sa'ar denies report ammunition levels low-IDF says no shortage of interceptors, after report claimed stockpile ‘critically low’In late-night vote, government approves extra funds for defense procurement, hours after US site reports that Israel informed Washington it was running out of ballistic interceptors-By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff 15 March 2026, 1:00 pmUpdated at 3:40 pm
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday denied reports that Israel is running “critically low” on air defense interceptors, as the war with Iran, in which the Islamic Republic has fired missiles and drones at Israel repeatedly each day, entered its third week.The denial came hours after the government approved the transfer of an additional NIS 2.6 billion (around $826 million) in budget funds to the Defense Ministry for “urgent and essential defense procurement” amid the fighting in Iran and Lebanon. The vote was held by phone, late Saturday night.An Israeli military official told reporters on Sunday that the IDF had no interceptor shortage as of now. “We prepared for a prolonged conflict. We are monitoring the situation at all times,” the official said.The IDF has said it is “prepared and ready to handle any scenario,” but initially declined to comment on specific munitions matters following the report from a US news site and a late-night “urgent” government approval of funds for defense procurement.Speaking Sunday Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also denied the report Israel was running low on interceptors. Asked at a press conference if there was any veracity to the report Sa’ar replied, “The answer is no,” but did not elaborate.Military officials told The Times of Israel that the operation in Iran had been planned months in advance, and this planning took into account Tehran’s stock of ballistic missiles and drones that it could fire at Israel.The officials also said that the IDF has prepared for a long war with Iran, which could last several more weeks, during which ballistic missile fire on Israel will likely continue.Israel operates a multi-tiered missile defense array, with the Arrow 3 currently the country’s most advanced long-range missile defense system, meant to intercept ballistic missiles — like the kind fired from Iran — while they are still outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.David’s Sling forms the middle tier, and systems like Iron Dome engage short range rockets like those generally fired from Lebanon.Taking Iran’s missile stockpile into account means the IDF prepared ahead of time with enough interceptors to handle the threat. Israel also prepared for the likely scenario that the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah would enter the war, as it did on March, 3, saying it was avenging the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.Hezbollah has since fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel, as well as at Israeli troops operating in the south of Lebanon.Additionally, the officials said the IDF is actually running through fewer interceptors than it anticipated at this point in the operation.Iran has launched around 300 ballistic missiles at Israel in over two weeks thus far, down from the 500 it fired at Israel during the 12-day war in June 2025.During the June 2025 war, as well, the IDF denied repeated claims that Israel’s interceptor stockpile was low.The interception rate of Iran’s ballistic missiles is high, according to the IDF, and at similar rates to the June 2025 war.There have been multiple impacts in residential areas of Israel, including three ballistic missiles carrying Iran’s conventional warheads of several hundred kilograms and around a dozen with cluster bomb warheads. Twelve people have been killed.The military has routinely emphasized that, as good as Israel’s multilayered air defenses are, they are not hermetic.Late Saturday, the US news site Semafor reported, citing US officials familiar with the matter, that Israel informed the US this week that it is running “critically low” on ballistic missile interceptors.The report claimed the US has been aware for months that Israel has a low capacity, adding that the US is not running low on interceptors of its own.Additionally, the report claimed that Iran’s launch of cluster munitions “may exacerbate the depletion of the stock,” despite Israel’s use of shorter-range air defense systems like the Iron Dome and David’s Sling to shoot down the individual submunitions, rather than an anti-ballistic missile system.Israel also uses the shorter-range systems to intercept attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon, though the report did not say that Israel is running into a shortage of those interceptors.Shortly after the publication of the report, the government approved the transfer of an additional NIS 2.6 billion (around $826 million) in budget funds to the Defense Ministry for “urgent and essential defense procurement” amid the fighting in Iran and Lebanon. The vote was held by phone, late at night.In a statement, the government said it will cut NIS 1.5 billion from the 2025-2026 budget for interest and commission payments, and take the other NIS 1.1 billion out of the 2025-2026 budgets of other ministries.It said, however, that if the 2026-2027 budget is approved later this month, as scheduled, the NIS 2.6 billion will instead come from the Defense Ministry budget as normal.The government voted last week on a revised version of the budget that boosted the Defense Ministry’s funds by NIS 32 billion in light of the war with Iran.Nava Freiberg contributed to this report
Inside story'We've learned the lesson, we don't speak'With Iran under US and Israeli attack, country’s Jews seek safety in silence-As US and Israel strike Islamic Republic, sources tell ToI that country’s Jews are ‘physically well’ but keeping a low profile to avoid regime’s eye; leaders warn against contact with Israel-By Nava Freiberg-15 March 2026, 10:43 am
It’s been over a year since Daveed, a pseudonym, spoke to his cousins in Tehran.While the Iranian native, who today sells goods in Jerusalem, is worried for the relatives he left behind years ago, he is also acutely aware of the danger he can put them in merely by making contact.“Nowadays, it’s safest to keep a low profile,” he said. Of the situation his family is in, he knows nothing beyond “they’re afraid.”As Israel and the United States begin the third week of their joint aerial assault against the Iranian regime, thousands of Jews living in the Islamic Republic are facing fraught circumstances.Exactly how fraught is difficult to determine. Since the campaign began, many Jews in Iran, like Daveed’s cousins, have had little or no contact with relatives abroad. Internet blackouts have limited communication, but in many cases the silence is deliberate, as such contact — particularly with those in Israel — risks drawing suspicion from authorities.Iranian Jewish community leaders and activists warn that attempts from within Israel to contact Jews in Iran could put their lives at risk. For that reason, The Times of Israel did not directly contact Jews in the country.Interviews have been conducted, however, with relatives, friends, and community figures connected to Iran’s Jews in an effort to understand how the war is affecting them. (This article was approved for publication by Israel’s military censor, which requires the submission of material concerning the status of Jewish communities in “hostile nations.”)Online estimates put Iran’s Jewish population at between 8,000 and 15,000 people, mostly concentrated in Tehran, with smaller communities in cities such as Isfahan and Shiraz.Since Israel’s establishment, tens of thousands of Iranian Jews have immigrated to the Jewish State, making up an estimated population of about 200,000 today, mostly Israeli-born.Daveed told The Times of Israel that he remembers the country fondly and longs to see it “free” one day.Now middle-aged, Daveed moved to Israel with his wife and children in his early 30s after growing up in Tehran and completing compulsory military service there.While speaking in Hebrew to the Times of Israel from his small shop, where he sells roasted nuts, seeds, dried fruit and spices, two other Iranian Jewish immigrants working nearby passed, calling out to him in Farsi.When asked about their relatives in Iran, they declined to comment.“It all will be okay, I believe,” Daveed said at the end of the conversation. “Please God, this will bring down the regime.”A tense picture-Iranian-born Jews who have been in contact with relatives in Iran said the Jewish community appeared to be managing under the circumstances, but pointed to past instances in which the regime targeted Jews in times of crisis, stressing that keeping their heads down was the best strategy.Some also expressed hope that the war would ultimately allow them to visit loved ones in the country.Many of those approached for this article declined to discuss the Jewish community in Iran at all. Some said they had intentionally avoided contacting relatives since the strikes began, fearing that even routine communication might expose them to danger.Responding to questions forwarded to them in Farsi by a London-based anti-regime activist, one Jewish family in Iran told The Times of Israel, “The conditions are not suitable to speak at the moment. Hoping for better days ahead.”“From being in touch with members of the Jewish community in Iran, I understand that they are physically well. We pray for their continued safety and well-being,” said Istanbul-based Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, who is the chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States.Joseph, a pseudonym for a Jewish Iranian who moved from Tehran to Jerusalem in 2005, said that he hasn’t heard from his two aunts in Tehran since a brutal government crackdown against anti-regime protests earlier this year.Some estimates say the repression killed as many as 30,000 Iranians, and officials in Israel have cited the violence as a factor accelerating the decision to strike Iran.Joseph explained that in moments of political or military unrest, suspicion can quickly fall on minorities in Iran: “The regime always blames someone for being connected to the enemy, saying the enemy caused all the disturbances.”“And of course, the first people they look for there are the Jews. So we’ve learned the lesson. Everyone immediately cuts off contact. We don’t speak. There has been no contact from [when the protests started] until now.”Reported arrests-During the recent demonstrations, unconfirmed Hebrew media reports alleged that several members of Iran’s Jewish community were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the protests, though community representatives were said to deny any connection, calling the arrests a mistake.In the aftermath of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June, Hebrew media reports also claimed that several Jewish community leaders in Tehran and Shiraz were arrested and accused, without any evidence, of having ties to Israel.At the same time, the Iranian regime distinguishes between Zionism and Judaism, and Jews are formally granted a degree of religious freedom. Jewish community leaders inside the country have repeatedly condemned Israeli action against Iran or in the Palestinian territories.During the June war, several Jewish communities published sharp statements condemning Israel. Similar statements were issued — and anti-Israel gatherings held — soon after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel that sparked Israel’s two-year war in Gaza with the Iran-backed terror group.It remains difficult to determine how much these statements reflect genuine sentiment within the community and how much they stem from pressure by the authorities.“The regime has taken people who had absolutely no connection to Israel, accused them of spying, and put them in prison. So if a Jew speaks directly now — especially in times like these — they’re looking for that,” Joseph said.Even the use of encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram can be dangerous.“Even if they don’t know the content [of the conversation], the fact that they know that a Jewish person there spoke to someone with an Israeli number — that alone is a problem,” he said.‘I hope to visit my homeland one day’Joseph said that during the June war, Jewish community leaders “warned very strongly not to speak with people in Israel — and even if they do speak, the conversation should only be about mundane things… Nothing political, or anything that could sound like information transfer.”Contacting relatives outside of Israel can also be problematic.An Iranian Jew living in the US told The Times of Israel that they’ve managed on occasion to speak with relatives in Shiraz since the US-Israeli campaign started, but are careful to avoid mentioning Israel over the phone, for fear of them “being accused of spying.”Joseph recalled that, before the 1979 revolution that put the current regime in power, his grandfather would travel at least twice a year to Israel from Iran, taking a one- to two-hour flight over Iraq.He hoped the current conflict would result in the regime’s fall, perhaps opening up ties between the countries and allowing him to see his family again: “As someone who lived there, I hope that one day I’ll be able to visit. Just a visit to my homeland.”“Everything the regime has done in the past 40-something years is one thing. What they did recently, with suppressing the protests, was on another level,” he said sadly. “Simply as a human being, I expect this to end — because as long as they remain in power, it will continue. And I believe that if the war stops halfway without the regime falling, they will oppress the people there even more.”
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.
North Korea conducts test of nuclear-capable rocket launchers.
Seoul, March 15 (AFP) Mar 15, 2026-North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported on Sunday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of around 10 ballistic missiles.The test comes after South Korean and US forces kicked off their springtime military drills, due to run until March 19.North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the testing on Saturday of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.It said the test involved 12 600mm-calibre ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies.Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang's enemies, within the 420 kilometres (around 260 miles) striking range, a sense of "uneasiness" and "a deep understanding of the destructive power of tactical nuclear weapon", KCNA reported.The rockets battered an island target in the East Sea of Korea more than 360 km away, KCNA said on Sunday.Kim praised the MRLS as a "very deadly yet attractive weapon".Photos released by state media showed several rockets blasting off large vehicles into the air.Another picture shows Kim and his daughter Ju Ae watching the launch from afar, flanked by a military official.Ju Ae has long been seen as next in line to rule the country, a perception stoked by a string of recent high-profile outings.South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it had detected multiple launches on Saturday from the North into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.Seoul's presidential Blue House condemned the launches as a "provocation that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions" and urged Pyongyang to immediately stop such acts.The launches came hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said that US President Donald Trump thinks a meeting with Pyongyang's Kim would be "good".The Trump administration has pushed in recent months to revive high-level talks with Pyongyang, eyeing a possible summit with Kim this year, potentially during Trump's visit to Beijing set for late March.After largely ignoring these overtures, Kim said recently that the two nations could "get along" if Washington accepted Pyongyang's nuclear status.- Joint drills -The US and South Korea's springtime military drills, dubbed "Freedom Shield", will involve about 18,000 Korean troops and run until March 19.Kim's comment on the rockets suggested it was in response to the ongoing exercise, Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP."The launch pattern... is closely synchronised with the schedule" of the joint drills, he said."This suggests the weapons system is being operated as a means of nuclear deterrence and practical demonstration" against the alliance.This week, Kim Yo Jong, a powerful confidante of her brother Kim Jong Un, said the joint drills "may cause unimaginably terrible consequences".She went on to say the drills were taking place at "a critical time when global security structure is collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world".Pyongyang has condemned the US-Israeli attack on Iran as an "illegal act of aggression", claiming it shows the "rogue" nature of the United States.North Korea also recently carried out missile tests from the naval Choe Hyon destroyer, claiming the country was in the process of "arming the Navy with nuclear weapons".
Poland links cyberattack on nuclear centre to Iran.
Warsaw, March 12 (AFP) Mar 12, 2026-Poland's National Centre for Nuclear Research has been hit by a cyberattack, likely from Iran, Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski said Thursday."The attack did not succeed on the scale that had been planned," he said, adding that "a lot indicates that (it) took place from the territory of Iran"."There was an attempt to breach security, which was stopped," Gawkowski told a podcast for rolling news channel TVN24+.While Gawkowski said that he could not reveal when exactly the attack to place, he said it had been within "the last few days".He said security services in the NATO member had been on high alert since the war in the Middle East broke out."Incidents have emerged that may be connected to adversaries from that part of the world," he said.The minister said "the places from which" the nuclear centre near the central city of Otwock "was attacked are linked to Iran".But Gawkowski warned that "this may be a kind of camouflage" and that further investigation was going on."When there is final information and the (security) services have checked everything, we will verify it," he said.The debate over nuclear weapons has heightened in Poland, an EU member that borders Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, since the beginning of the Iran conflict and amid the ongoing war in neighbouring Ukraine.Conservative-nationalist President Karol Nawrocki has said Poland should "begin work" on nuclear defences, while centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said Warsaw "is talking seriously" with Paris about being protected by France's nuclear umbrella.
12 arrested at banned annual al-Quds Day protest in central London-Protesters chant ‘Death to the IDF’ in crowd dotted with posters of new Iranian supreme leader; across the river, counterprotesters wave flags of Israel, US, pre-revolution Iran By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 1:13 am-MAR 16,26
Hundreds of people turned out in London Sunday for an annual al-Quds Day march banned by the government after police said it was organized by a group “supportive of the Iranian regime.”British police said in a statement they had arrested 12 people and were investigating anti-Israeli chants allegedly made at the rally.Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said earlier this week she had agreed to the ban to “prevent serious public disorder” in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, where, since February 28, Iran has been launching missile and drone attacks across the region in retaliation against a US-Israeli offensive.It was the first time a protest march in the British capital was banned since 2012, but a static demonstration was permitted, according to London’s Metropolitan Police.Around 1,000 police officers were stationed in the area, The Guardian newspaper reported, tasked with keeping apart demonstrators and counterprotesters by allowing them to gather on opposite sides of the River Thames, not far from Parliament.Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters who were directed to the south side of the river waved flags and held up placards with slogans such as “Stop Israeli war crimes,” in a reference to Israel’s offensive in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led onslaught.“What has happened to the Palestinians is so unjust,” pensioner Jean Apps, 81, from Purley in south London, told AFP. “And now I am here also because of the illegal attacks on Iran. I know Iran is not perfect, but the Iranian people should be left to sort out their own problems.”Arrests and chants-Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said police had made 12 arrests, “including for showing support for a proscribed organization, affray and for threatening or abusive behavior.”“We are also investigating chants made by a speaker” at the protest, which marked al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, an annual pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel event on the last Friday of Ramadan, he added in the police statement.Videos online showed protesters chanting, “Death to the IDF,” while others were carrying posters of Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, as well as Iranian and Palestinian flags.Bobby Vylan delivered a speech at the Al-Quds Day demonstration in London, ending his speech with 'death to the IDF' chants. pic.twitter.com/xYTXdsckdc — PALESTINE ONLINE ???????? (@OnlinePalEng) March 15, 2026-The “Death to the IDF” chants were led by Bobby Vylan, a member of the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan, who was investigated by police after he led the same chant at the Glastonbury music festival last year. The investigation was ultimately dropped.“We recognize the concern footage and chanting like this causes, particularly with London’s Jewish communities,” the Metropolitan Police said on X.The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), a nonprofit that organizes the annual al-Quds Day march, condemned the decision to ban the event, calling the move “politically charged.”The march was an “international demonstration… in support of Palestinians and all the oppressed around the world,” the group added after the ban was announced.On the other side of the river, counter-demonstrators waved US and Israeli flags along with the old Lion and Sun Iranian flag favored by exiles.They chanted, “Long live the king,” referring to Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, who was ousted by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.“We are supporting the king of Iran, we are asking America and Israel to help us eliminate the IRGC” — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — said Shiva, 37, an Iranian chef living in London.“They don’t care about the people, they are just killing us. It’s a cruel regime.”
IDF says slain brother of Michigan synagogue attacker was a Hezbollah commander-Army confirms reports linking Ayman Ghazali to terror operative who oversaw Lebanon-based group’s weapons operations and was killed in Israeli strike By Emanuel Fabian,ToI Staff and Agencies 15 March 2026, 6:45 pm
The brother of an armed man who rammed his truck into a Reform synagogue and preschool in Michigan last week was a Hezbollah commander, the Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday, confirming earlier reports on the matter.Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali was responsible for managing weapons operations within a specialized branch of the Badr Unit. The unit is responsible for launching hundreds of rockets toward Israeli civilians throughout the war,” the IDF said in a post on X.His brother Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, carried out the Thursday attack.The IDF said that Ibrahim was “eliminated in an IAF strike on a Hezbollah military structure.”Several of the Michigan attacker’s Lebanese relatives were killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this month amid the renewed fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group, multiple reports said.An unnamed official had told NBC News that the strike killed two of Ghazali’s brothers, who were known to be members of the Hezbollah terror group, in addition to his niece and nephew.Sources told CNN that Ghazali had been flagged in US government databases for connections to members of Hezbollah, but was not thought himself to be a member of the terror group.Security guards opened fire on Ghazali after he smashed a truck through the doors of the Temple Israel synagogue and preschool in West Bloomfield, near Detroit.Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, said during a news conference Friday that ultimately Ghazali fatally shot himself after he got stuck in his vehicle and the engine caught fire.Officials later found large quantities of commercial-grade fireworks and several jugs of a liquid believed to be gasoline.The FBI, which is leading the investigation, has described the attack as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.Runyan said that law enforcement didn’t have enough evidence to call the attack an act of terror at this time, but that investigations were ongoing.None of the 140 children, teachers and staff inside the synagogue were injured, authorities said.According to the US Department of Homeland Security, Ghazali came to the United States in 2011 on an IR1 immigrant visa, given to spouses of US citizens, and was granted citizenship himself in 2016.He worked at a popular restaurant in Dearborn Heights, Hamido, but had been absent in recent weeks, fellow employees told The New York Times. He was divorced and had at least one child, according to The Detroit News, which cited court records.
Early-morning rocket fire targets Haifa, Tel Aviv-Sa’ar denies reports of talks with Lebanon as Hezbollah keeps up fire on Israel-Energy minister says Israel could cancel the ‘horrible and illegitimate’ 2022 maritime border deal with Lebanon, as government criticizes Beirut for failing to rein in terror group-By Nava Freiberg,Lazar Berman and Emanuel Fabian 15 March 2026, 5:53 pm
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar denied reports on Sunday that Israel and Lebanon are set to hold direct talks in the coming days amid the fighting with Hezbollah, and demanded that Beirut first act against the terror group on its soil.Sa’ar’s comments, made as he visited the site of an Iranian missile impact in the northern Bedouin town of Zarzir, came as Hezbollah continued to fire rockets and drones at Israel, setting off warning sirens as far south as Tel Aviv and sending large swaths of the country running for shelter.Israel, meanwhile, continued to strike at Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, with reports saying it was eyeing a wider offensive in the country’s south.Sa’ar’s appearance followed reports that Beirut and Jerusalem are expected to discuss an agreement on confronting Hezbollah and possibly on broader cooperation. Asked by a Reuters reporter if he could confirm those reports, the foreign minister said, “No.”“If the Lebanese government and the Lebanese army want to change something, they should do something in order to stop the attacks being done by Hezbollah from Lebanese territory,” Sa’ar said. “Until now, they hadn’t done anything significant in order to stop” Hezbollah’s attacks.Lebanon has urged Hezbollah to disarm and drew up a plan to get the terror group to lay down its weapons. But Sa’ar claimed that ever since the November 2024 US-brokered ceasefire with the Iran-backed terror group, “Lebanon hadn’t really done what it should have done in order to dismantle Hezbollah, and we see now the results. And we also expect to take some serious steps from their side to stop the shootings on Israel. This is the practical thing to do right now.”“We are all for peace and normalization in the future, including with Lebanon. I think the problem in Lebanon is Hezbollah. We don’t have real disputes with the state of Lebanon. We have some minor border disputes that can be solved quite easily. But the problem is Hezbollah,” he added.Sa’ar’s comments appeared to conflict with a report Sunday from Army Radio that former strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a close aide of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, recently visited Saudi Arabia to discuss with senior Saudi officials an initiative for a possible agreement with the Lebanese government.Dermer has reportedly been enlisted to head the Lebanon file for the prime minister. According to Army Radio, Lebanon, the US, and France are involved in the efforts to agree on what the Lebanon-Israel relationship could look like after the conflict with Hezbollah ends.The anti-Hezbollah government in Lebanon wants to hold direct talks with Israel in a third country, said the report.Energy Minister Eli Cohen also downplayed the chances of a Lebanon-Israel agreement, telling Army Radio on Sunday that he was “skeptical” one could be reached. He also called on the Lebanese government to do more to combat Hezbollah.“We know there’s an almost wall-to-wall coalition… against Hezbollah,” he said. “We know that the president of Lebanon and the army of Lebanon want to disarm Hezbollah, but they can’t, so if you make an agreement with the government of Lebanon, but the military power stays in the hands of Hezbollah, which is controlled from Tehran, it’s hard to see this happening practically.”Cohen added that the cabinet is considering rescinding the 2022 agreement between Israel and Lebanon that set a maritime border between the two countries. The agreement was inked under the leadership of former prime minister Yair Lapid, and since returning to office, Netanyahu has criticized it as a “surrender” that yielded too much to Lebanon.Cohen, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, echoed that criticism in his interview, calling the agreement a “surrender document” and claiming that it was “born in sin on the eve of elections.”“It’s a horrible and illegitimate agreement, and so from my standpoint, we must act and cancel this gas agreement,” he said. “This has come up in the cabinet and certainly this matter is being considered, and we must act on it. It never should have been signed.”Hezbollah fires 10 rockets at Haifa area, one at Tel Aviv-Early Sunday morning, a long-range rocket launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon at central Israel was intercepted by air defenses, according to initial IDF assessments. There were no reports of injuries.In a barrage later in the morning, Hezbollah fired approximately 10 rockets at the Haifa area on the northern coast. There were no reports of injuries. Shortly afterward, sirens sounded in Acre and the surrounding towns amid more Hezbollah rocket fire.The terror group continued to fire rockets and drones at Israel throughout the morning and into the afternoon.Hezbollah began to fire missiles and drones across the border on March 2, two days after the US and Israel began strikes on the terror group’s sponsor, Iran. Since then, it has launched some 100 rockets a day, according to the IDF.The IDF says two-thirds of those rockets have been aimed at Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon and along the border, while a third have been aimed at Israel.In addition, Hezbollah has launched more than 100 drones at Israel since the hostilities escalated, the vast majority of which were shot down by the Israeli Air Force, according to the military.IDF kills Hamas official, terror group says-An Israeli strike in south Lebanon’s Sidon area Sunday killed a Hamas official, a source from the Palestinian terror group said.The source, requesting anonymity, said the strike killed Hamas official Wissam Taha. State media had reported a strike on an apartment in a residential building in a northern district of Sidon.In addition, the IDF said that during a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon Saturday, it struck Hezbollah rocket launchers and other infrastructure.In the al-Qatrani area of south Lebanon, the military said, it struck several Hezbollah rocket-launching sites where operatives had planned “imminent” fire on Israel.In Beirut, the IDF said it struck and destroyed command centers of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, where operatives had been “advancing terror attacks against Israel and its citizens.”Separately, the military announced that a Palestinian terror operative who was working on behalf of Iran had been killed in an airstrike in Lebanon on Friday.According to the military, Muhammad Majed Abd al-Salam Tawfiq Zidan was a “key Palestinian terrorist who operated under the intelligence of the Iranian terror regime and attempted to advance terror attacks” against Israel.Lebanon’s health ministry said in an updated toll on Sunday that 850 people had been killed in the country since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah renewed some two weeks ago.The ministry statement said the toll included 66 women, 107 children, and 32 health workers, with 2,105 other people wounded. The statement did not distinguish between combatants and civilians.AFP and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Analysis'They're caught in a very precarious position'Small, divided and wary, Kurdish rebels won’t be the ones bringing down Iran’s regime-Trump floated the idea of Kurdish militias going on the offensive to help defeat the Islamic Republic, but the reality on the ground limits the role they can likely play in Tehran’s collapse-By Lazar Berman-15 March 2026, 4:50 pm
When questions began to arise early in the Iran war about how — and whether — the ayatollahs’ regime might be toppled without US or Israeli boots on the ground, the country’s Kurdish minority was thrust uncomfortably into the spotlight as a potential solution.US President Donald Trump himself floated the idea 10 days ago, saying: “I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that, I’d be all for it.”He reportedly spoke directly with Kurdish leaders in Iraq. The Associated Press had reported on March 4 that Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq were preparing for a potential cross-border military operation, and that the US had asked Iraqi Kurds to support them.Then the anticipation dissipated. On Saturday, Trump pivoted. “We’re not looking to the Kurds going in,” he said. “We don’t want to make the war any more complex than it already is.”And, indeed, no Kurdish offensive has materialized.There may still be ongoing conversations with Kurdish elements in Iraq and Iran, but anyone pinning the war’s hopes on Iran’s Kurds is likely to be disappointed.Though armed, Kurdish separatist groups are incapable of carrying out a major military offensive against the regime, and have ample reason to be cautious of promises of US military backing should they launch an offensive.The Iranian regime has long used the specter of an armed Kurdish insurgency as a pretext for political repression, especially against the country’s Kurdish minority. Were such a foray actually in the works, any serious contact and coordination with between Kurds and outside elements would be kept covert to avoid playing into hardliner narratives.“If this time it were out in the open, it would be completely exceptional,” said Kurdish expert Ofra Bengio of Tel Aviv University. “Not because we don’t really want it, but because they themselves don’t want it — it actually causes a rallying of Iranian nationalist elements against them.”“If there is any connection, it should always be behind the scenes and quiet, as both sides prefer.”Divided Kurds-The Kurds, numbering 30-40 million, are considered the world’s largest stateless ethnic group. Culturally and linguistically close to Persians, they are mostly Sunni Muslims, living in distinct but linked communities primarily in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.Iraq’s 6 million Kurds have achieved the greatest measure of independence; they run the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG, within the federal Iraqi system since 2005.Syria’s Kurds, the largest ethnic minority in the country, make up some 9 percent of the country’s 23 million people, according to US government figures. Syrian Kurdish fighters aligned with the US more than a decade ago to fight the Islamic State jihadist group, setting up their own semi-autonomous zone in the territory they had seized from ISIS.The largest Kurdish population is in Turkey, sometimes estimated as making up around a quarter of its total population of 80 million. Turkish security forces have battled a bloody insurgency by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the country’s southeast for three decades, though the PKK announced it would dissolve last year.There is no official census of Iran’s Kurdish population, but it is generally believed that it makes up around 10% of Iran’s 90-100 million citizens, concentrated in the country’s northwest.Though Iranian Kurds don’t have the autonomy enjoyed by their Iraqi and Syrian brethren, or the numbers of Turkey’s Kurds, they are the only Kurds to have had their own state — albeit briefly — in 1946.“It’s a fairly poor region of Iran, like a lot of the peripheral areas of the country,” said Roham Alvandi, professor of international history at the London School of Economics. “That, of course, breeds resentment towards the central government.”Out of that resentment have sprung a range of small armed Kurdish groups with diverse ideologies, which have fought against Iran and occasionally against each other, alongside more moderate Kurdish groups that eschew armed struggle.The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), the oldest of the armed parties, calls for regime change and autonomy for Kurds within a democratic Iran.The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) is a branch of the Marxist PKK, and is designated as a terrorist group by the US. It too is advocating for autonomy in a decentralized Iran.Some armed groups, like the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), are fighting for an independent Kurdish state.Iran has designated Kurdish rebel groups, who are largely based in Iraq, as terrorist organizations, and many have previously fought its security forces in Kurdish-majority areas along the border.In February, five of the leading rebel groups — including the three aforementioned parties — gathered in Iraqi Kurdistan to create an alliance whose goals are “the struggle to bring down the Islamic Republic of Iran, the realization of the Kurdish people’s right to self-determination, and the establishment of a national and democratic institution based on the political will of the Kurdish nation in Eastern Kurdistan.”But these groups have largely refrained from armed activity in recent years, under political pressure mostly from their Iraqi hosts — raising questions about their current capacity to lead an armed offensive against Iran.Given their diverse ideologies, Kurdish rebels have a range of approaches toward Israel. The groups affiliated with Iraqi Kurdish parties are more disposed to see Israel as an ally against Arab and Persian nationalism, and against Islamist extremist groups.However, Turkey’s PKK, considered the strongest Kurdish rebel group, was ideologically anti-Zionist, and even clashed with Israeli forces in Lebanon in the 1980s. It didn’t help that Israel was a close security ally of Turkey during the bloody PKK insurgencies of the 1990s. Its branches in Iran shared a similar outlook.Those positions have changed in recent years, however.“Historically, the Kurdish underground was Marxist, and it was very sympathetic to the PLO, generally hostile to Israel,” said Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. “In recent years, due to developments in Syria’s civil war, there was a shift, and there were contacts between Israel and the Syrian branch of the Kurdish movement, even publicly.”Betrayal-Iranian Kurdish groups may dream of bringing down the Iranian regime, but they have reason to be wary of US and Israeli promises of military backing if they launch an insurgency.Israel, along with the US and the Reza Pahlavi regime that ruled Iran until 1979, backed Iraqi Kurdish rebellions against Iraq’s central government in the 1960s and 70s. The shah reached a settlement with Iraq in 1975, forcing Israel to pull its active support for the Kurdish rebels.The Kurdish sense of betrayal by the US is more biting and recent. During the 1991 Gulf War, US president George H.W. Bush called on Iraqis to “take matters into their own hands.” Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north both rose up, only to be slaughtered by Saddam Hussein’s forces while the US stood by. Over a million Kurdish refugees fled the violence.That pattern continued in Syria. A decade ago, Kurdish forces there partnered with the US to defeat ISIS. But when Syria’s new army under President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured most of the Kurdish-held areas in a sweeping offensive last year, Syria’s Kurds called on the US to intervene on their behalf, and felt betrayed when Washington instead urged them to merge with Sharaa’s forces.Syrian Kurds are warning Iranian rebel groups against trusting the US, according to Reuters.Ahmed Barakat, head of the Kurdish Progressive Democratic Party in Syria, said that Iranian Kurdish forces should exercise “extreme caution.”“I hope that the Kurds of Iran will not ally themselves with America, because they will abandon them,” said Saad Ali, a 45-year-old resident of the northeastern Syrian Kurdish town of Qamishli.I’m sure that the Kurds are very, very wary of being made into, essentially, the foot soldiers of this American and Israeli campaign against Iran.“I’m sure that the Kurds are very, very wary of being made into, essentially, the foot soldiers of this American and Israeli campaign against Iran,” said Alvandi.“They’re caught in a very precarious position because their promises of support from the Americans and the Israelis could evaporate very quickly and leave them in a position where they neither have very strong support from the KRG, and they may also be facing a Iranian regime that is going to go after them with a vengeance.”Climbing the mountain-Even if they got over historical grievances, there are other major obstacles standing in the way of a Kurdish campaign against Iran’s government.The rebel groups are small, with only a few thousand fighters between them.They haven’t enjoyed widespread backing either, with most Iranians, including Kurds, seemingly unnerved by the prospect of a sustained Kurdish insurgency that could thrust the country into a bloody civil war.“They don’t by any means represent the mainstream of Iranian Kurds, but they are a reality,” said Alvandi. “The weaker the central government becomes and the more desperate the situation becomes in Iran, these political groups will come to fill the vacuum.”At the same time, they do have the regime in Tehran spooked. Since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February, Tehran has repeatedly struck Kurdish militants’ positions in Iraq, accusing them of serving Western or Israeli interests.Iran has also sent a message to the Kurdish government in Iraq, warning them against allowing rebel groups to cross into Iran. That message has been driven home by strikes on civilian sites inside of Iraqi Kurdistan, including international airports.Turkish pressure on the US also likely dampened Trump’s enthusiasm for a Kurdish offensive.“These two factors — pressure on the United States and pressure on the Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq — led to this reversal, or at least to the end of public talk about activating the Kurds in Iran,” said Lindenstrauss.That doesn’t mean quiet work isn’t taking place. There has also been more overt attempts to pave the way for Kurds to rise up.Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Israel had been bombing sites in western Iran to support the Kurdish militias that hope to seize towns near the frontier, citing three sources familiar with Israel’s talks with the factions.Even a limited Kurdish offensive could have some strategic value, forcing Iran to rush troops to the border area, leaving fewer soldiers in major population centers to deal with a potential uprising by the Persian population.Still, Iran’s general population isn’t likely to support a Kurdish uprising, which would be aimed at securing Kurdish autonomy and possibly bringing down the regime.“It’s seen as a mechanism to weaken Iran; it could contribute to Iran’s fragmentation,” said Lindenstrauss of a Kurdish offensive. “And many people, despite hating the regime, still have national pride and don’t want to see Iran split geographically or, heaven forbid, spiral into something like Syria.”Some, however, believe that there is a formula that could see Kurdish rebel groups take significant territory from the central government in Tehran, though they’ll need help.“The Kurds in Syria were a non-entity in 2010–2011,” said Bengio. “But the moment they received backing from the United States — airstrikes and so on — they managed both to defeat ISIS in Syria and to establish for themselves a sort of autonomous entity. So it all depends on whether the United States indeed wants to step into this arena and assist the Kurds in a war against Iran.”If that doesn’t happen, the Kurds have still notched up some wins in the past two weeks.“The theoretical map of Kurdistan, while not a declared state entity, appeared on TV screens and leading news channels,” said Lindenstrauss. “That’s increased awareness of the Kurdish issue. There’s also a feeling that despite setbacks, they’re climbing the mountain.”Meanwhile, it’s not clear what the fall of the Islamic regime in Iran would mean for the country’s leadership or future.A senior Israeli official, said to be familiar with the planning and strategy for the Iran war, told The Washington Post on Monday that Jerusalem has not identified any viable replacement for the current Iranian leadership.The official expressed doubt “that arming the Kurds or other minorities would be a good strategy because it would alienate the Iranian majority.”“We don’t see anyone who can replace the regime,” the Israeli official said in a phone interview, adding, “I’m not sure it’s in our interest to fight until the regime is toppled… Nobody wants a never-ending story.”The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Iran said to arrest 20 people for allegedly cooperating with Israel-The Islamic Republic, which frequently accuses people of spying without evidence, has reportedly arrested hundreds of alleged collaborators in recent days-By AFP and ToI Staff 15 March 2026, 3:24 pm
TEHRAN — Iranian authorities have arrested at least 20 people in the country’s northwest on suspicion of cooperating with Israel, local media reported on Sunday, more than two weeks into the US-Israeli war with Iran.The arrests took place during raids on networks linked to Israel in the West Azerbaijan province, the semi-official Fars news agency said, quoting provincial prosecutor Hossein Majidi.“Twenty people were arrested and detained” after they were found to be “sending details of military, law enforcement and security locations to the Zionist enemy,” it added.Iran frequently arrests people and accuses them of spying without providing evidence.In addition, on Sunday, the official IRNA news agency reported the arrest of a person it said was sending information to the London-based opposition-linked TV channel Iran International.The report, which quoted the police commander of the northern Qazvin province, said the individual was using a Starlink terminal, a technology that is banned in Iran.Iran has been digitally sealed off from the rest of the world by a complete internet blackout since the start of the war.To get around those restrictions, some Iranians have turned to Starlink terminals from the US company SpaceX, which connect to the internet via satellites.In January, Iran banned cooperation with Iran International, saying it was “affiliated with the Zionist regime.”Iranian authorities have carried out sweeping raids across the country in recent days, arresting hundreds of people suspected of cooperating with Israel and the United States, local media reported. Last week, its intelligence ministry claimed it had arrested 30 spies, internal mercenaries, and operational agents of Israel and the US in the span of a few days.
Explainer-As Iran’s other proxy groups join war, Houthi rebels in Yemen hold back, for now-Tehran-backed group said to fear assassinations, divisions in Yemen and possible weapons shortages; restraint may be coordinated with Iran and change if regime gets more desperate-By FATMA KHALED 15 March 2026, 2:57 pm
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have so far remained on the sidelines as the Iran war widens across the Middle East, raising questions about why — and when the battle-hardened group might join the fight.Iran has retaliated against the United States and Israel with missiles and drones, targeting American military bases and other locations in Gulf Arab countries, disrupting trade routes, choking fuel supplies and threatening regional air traffic.Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, suggested on Thursday in his first written statement since succeeding his father, who was killed in the war’s opening salvo, that Iran may open up new fronts in the conflict — a sign, analysts say, the Houthis may get involved soon.Until now, the Houthis have been reluctant to fight, fearing assassinations of their leaders, internal divisions in Yemen and uncertainties over weapons supplies, the experts said.But that may change as Iran seeks to increase pressure on global oil supply routes through potential attacks by the Houthis, who have had previous success targeting oil facilities in the region, the analysts said.Iran has asserted its influence across the Middle East through its proxy forces in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen’s Houthis.Some of its closest allies have already joined the conflict, with Hezbollah resuming rocket and drone attacks on Israel within two days of the attack on Iran — just 15 months after the last Israel-Hezbollah war ended in a November 2024 ceasefire. Militias linked to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq have claimed drone strikes on US bases in Erbil.Meanwhile, the Houthis have only held protests and issued declarations condemning the Iran war, in contrast to the waves of missile and drone attacks they launched on Israel and shipping in the Red Sea after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.Amid that war, the Houthis launched over 130 ballistic missiles and dozens of explosive-laden drones at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others. In response, Israel attacked the Houthis in Yemen, located some 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) away, 19 times via the Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy.Houthis’ quiet may be strategic wait, coordinated with Iran.Armed by Iran, the Houthis seized most of Yemen’s north and its capital, Sanaa, in 2014, pushing the country’s internationally recognized government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s government entered the conflict the following year, and the Houthis have since fought a long-running but largely stalemated civil war in Yemen.Their slogan reads: “God is great. Death to America. Death to Israel. A curse on the Jews. Victory to Islam.”While the Houthis share some political and religious ties with Iran, they follow a different doctrine of Shiite Islam and are independent of Iran’s supreme leader, unlike the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group and several Iran-backed Iraqi militias.Still, they are key to Iran’s regional influence and the current war is unlikely to weaken that, according to Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank.“From Tehran’s perspective, the Houthis have proven themselves to be a capable and effective front, able to generate real pressure,” Nagi said.He said the Houthi leaders’ decision to distance themselves from the conflict is a calculated choice that has been fully coordinated with the Iranians.Two Houthi members of the group’s media and political offices told The Associated Press that the rebels’ weapons stockpile is running low after its attacks during the Israel-Hamas war. The Iran war has further impeded the flow of weapons, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media.Still, the group has a large stockpile of drones, said another official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the weapons issue, about which he is well-informed.If Houthis join war, they’ll likely target oil tankers-Nagi said the Houthis appear to be building up their forces by recruiting more fighters, relying on local weapons production and sending reinforcements to Yemen’s western coastline on the Red Sea, signaling they are preparing for escalation.“The decision is not about unwillingness to intervene, but about timing,” Nagi said. “Iran’s broader strategy seems to be to avoid throwing all its cards on the table at once, instead using its partners and capabilities gradually as the confrontation evolves.”The Houthis are likely to step in if the conflict widens, Nagi added, or if they perceive an existential threat to Iran, such as significant deterioration in military capabilities.Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi has repeatedly emphasized the group is ready to intervene, claiming their “hands are on the trigger,” though it’s unclear what that involvement would entail.″Houthis, of course, are always ready for any war,” said Farea al-Muslimi, a research fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London. “Some weaponry moved in different areas inside Yemen recently… but it’s still not clear whether it’s for a military escalation.”If the Houthis enter the war, they will most likely resume attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, while also striking Israel, Nagi said. They could also join Iran’s attacks on Gulf countries, targeting US military assets and interests.Attacks on vessels during the Israel-Hamas war upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion worth of goods passed each year before the war. The rebels carried out their campaign against shipping at the same time that they were regularly attacking Israel itself.Should the Houthis join the Iran war, their primary targets would likely be oil tankers, the analysts said, since shipping offers the most immediate pressure point and attacking it would signal escalation while impacting energy supply chains.Attacks on oil installations could also be considered. The Houthis have previously struck oil facilities in Saudi Arabia during their long-running conflict against the Saudi-led coalition.Meanwhile, US military sites in the region might also become targets, Nagi said.Analysts: Houthi attacks possible, but timing must be right-Abdel-Bari Taher, a political analyst and former head of the press syndicate in Yemen, said any decision to join the war is impacted by the internal situation in Yemen, including recent deadly clashes in south Yemen, public opposition in Sanaa to joining the war and heightened caution among Houthi leaders after high-profile assassinations.The two Houthi officials from the group’s media and political offices said the US has sent warnings via Omani mediators against participating in the war. They said Houthi political and security leaders have also been alerted that their cellphones are under surveillance by the US and Israel. Fearing potential Israeli assassinations, Houthi leaders have been instructed not to appear in public, the officials said.″Despite these constraints and the complex domestic and regional dynamics, Houthi involvement in the conflict remains a possibility,” Taher said.Al-Muslimi, the Chatham House analyst, said the Houthis don’t have the military capabilities or an internal Yemeni interest that would force them to join the war, and the group seems committed to a ceasefire with the US that was brokered by Oman last year.“They hope to fight, especially with Israel, but they can’t be the ones to fire the first shot,” al-Muslimi said.He said the Houthis would likely need a local Yemeni cause to join the fighting — a reason that would strengthen support among their local base.The analyst also noted: The Houthis “are a local group that Iran uses and supports, but didn’t create.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report
UAE, Saudi leaders discuss Iran attacks in second call since Mideast war.
Dubai, March 16 (AFP) Mar 16, 2026-Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed discussed on Monday Iran's retaliatory strikes on the Gulf and expressed solidarity and sympathy in their second call since a public row in late December.The de facto Saudi ruler and the UAE's president discussed "the continued and blatant Iranian attacks targeting countries in the region," according to a statement published by Emirati news agency WAM."Both sides stressed the need for the immediate cessation of military escalation... underscoring the importance of prioritising serious dialogue and diplomatic means," it added.'Whether a person or a rock, the bullet hit something'‘Learn your lesson’:
Inscribed 2,100-year-old sling bullet found in the Galilee-Artifact was possibly used by the Greek defenders of the city of Hippos against the Hasmonean army of King Alexander Jannaeus in 101 BCE-By Rossella Tercatin-15 March 2026, 10:22 pm
A circa 2,100-year-old sling bullet inscribed with the word “Learn” in Greek has been unearthed during archaeological excavations at the Sussita (Hippos) National Park on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, the University of Haifa announced Sunday.The bullet, measuring 3.2 x 1.95 centimeters and weighing 38 grams, was possibly used by the Greek defenders of the city against the Hasmonean army of King Alexander Jannaeus in 101 BCE.A paper on the artifact was published in the peer-reviewed journal “Palestine Exploration Quarterly” last week.Its discovery marks the first time that this specific inscription has been found on a sling bullet, according to Haifa University’s Michael Eisenberg, co-director of excavation at the site and one of the authors of the study.“Sling bullets were made of lead, and were the most common munitions in the Hellenistic world,” Eisenberg told The Times of Israel over the telephone. “They were the cheapest ones, simple and very effective.”He explained that most bullets were unadorned. Still, it was not uncommon for bullets to carry decorations, such as a symbol of power or an inscription.“In the larger Israel-Syria region, many times you will see a group of thunderbolts tied up together as the ultimate weapon of Zeus, the head of the Greek pantheon, sometimes a trident, the weapon of [god of the Sea] Poseidon,” Eisenberg said. “There are very rare cases when the bullets carry an inscription.”Inscriptions often included names of cities or of military commanders. However, at times, archaeologists have also discovered artifacts bearing a sarcastic message, such as “catch.”Eisenberg and his fellow authors believe that this is also how the word “learn” should be interpreted.“It uses a very strange structure that only exists in Greek,” he said. “It’s like the sling tells itself, ‘I’m learning my job by hitting the enemy.’”“Perhaps the idea was [to tell the enemy], ‘Learn your lesson,’ or ‘Next time, you should learn not to come here,’” he added.According to Eisenberg, this is the first time such an inscription has been found on a sling bullet, not only in Israel but worldwide.The bullet was found in excavations in the area of the city’s Roman necropolis (cemetery). Recently, the team also unearthed another artifact engraved with a scorpion, yet to be published. The archaeologists have found several dozen bullets in the same area.Eisenberg and his team believe the “Learn” bullet precedes the cemetery and dates back to the Hellenistic period.“Hippos was founded as a Greek city in the 2nd century BCE,” he said. “It was established by one of two kings, either Antiochus the Great or Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the villain of the Hanukkah story.”Based on its typology, the archaeologists dated the artifact to the second half of the 2nd century or the beginning of the 1st century BCE.“Perhaps the bullet was used during the battle between the Jewish Hasmonean kingdom expanding toward the Galilee and the Golan,” Eisenberg said. “In 101 BCE, we see Alexander Jannaeus trying to conquer Hippos and this region. He was very successful in conquering it, though he could not keep it.”He said other scenarios are also possible, including that the slingshot was launched in earlier confrontations between different Greek kingdoms or that it was used in training.The archaeologists believe that the area where the artifact and many other bullets were found corresponds to the ancient Hellenistic and then Roman road that led to the city from the Sea of Galilee, marking a place where it would have made sense for the besieging army to be ascending to reach Hippos and for its defenders to shoot at them.For sure, the bullet shows it hit something.“We don’t know if it was a rock or a person, but there was definitely an impact,” Eisenberg said.
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED) there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
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-HEAVENLY OBJECTS) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
U.S. forecast to bring extreme heat, cold and everything in between-As heat blasts the Southwest, a polar vortex is forecast for the Midwest and East. Snow is expected in the Great Lakes, and an atmospheric river is on tap for Hawaii.March 13, 2026, 8:41 PM EDT / Source: The Associated Press.
Nearly every part of the United States is getting walloped by wild weather or just about to be.Days of downpours have begun in Hawaii. The Southwest will soon bake with day after day of record 100-degree-plus heat. Two storms will dump snow by the foot over northern Great Lakes states. And the dreaded polar vortex will again invade the Midwest and East with soul-crushing Arctic chill.This forecast of extremes comes as weather whiplash has already hit much of the East. On Wednesday, Washington, D.C., residents walked around in shorts in record-breaking 86 degrees Fahrenheit. On Thursday, it snowed.“All of the country, even if you’re not necessarily seeing extremes, are going to see generally changing from cold to warm, or warm to cold to warm,” said meteorologist Marc Chenard of the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in Maryland.Former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue said he expects extreme weather in all 50 states.Triple-digit heat persists in Southwest-A heat dome will form early next week and park over the Southwest, baking temperatures to triple digits that haven’t been seen this early in the year, Maue and Chenard said.Some forecasts see 98 Fahrenheit in Phoenix on Tuesday, followed by 103, 105 and two days of 107. In 137 years of record-keeping, Phoenix never hit 100 before March 26 and usually hit its first 100-degree day in early May, according to the weather service, which warned: “Since we are not acclimated to this level of heat this early in the year, it will be more impactful than usual.”It has already started in Los Angeles, with unusual 90-degree March weather that had people in shorts and tank tops seeking shade wherever they could find it, even if it was as slender as a light post.Shane Dixon, 40, usually runs about 5 miles near his home in Culver City without much effort, he said, his face glistening with sweat and his T-shirt tucked into his shorts. But Thursday was hard because of the heat, and he had to cut it short.“The back of my neck was melting,” he said. But he preferred it to the cold and snow that will hit elsewhere.“I could go literally soak myself and walk out in the sun, and I’ll make it home fine. If it was freezing cold, I could not do this,” he said.Single-digit cold invades North-Around the same time as the heat starts blasting Phoenix, the polar vortex — a system that usually keeps frigid air penned up near the North Pole — is forecast to send its chill deep into the Midwest and East, even bordering some of the Southeast, Maue said.Minneapolis will hover around zero for a low, and Chicago will be in the single digits Tuesday. The next day, “temperatures in the teens and 20s in the Northeast and 20s in the Mid-Atlantic,” Maue said. Even Atlanta could drop to the 20s.Two storm systems in a row — one Friday, then another Sunday into Monday — will chug along the country’s northern tier and Great Lakes and between them could dump 3 to 4 feet of snow in places, Maue said.That bigger second storm system will see its barometric pressure drop so quickly and sharply — meaning it is intensifying and winds are strengthening — that it will qualify as a bomb cyclone, which is quite unusual to develop over land. Normally, bomb cyclones get their energy from warm ocean waters, but this one will draw from the polar vortex.Just south of the area in Michigan where the heavy snow will hit, there’s potential for a significant ice storm, said meteorologist Jeff Masters with Yale Climate Connections.An area stretching from Kansas south through Oklahoma and cutting through to Texas to the Gulf of Mexico is forecast to get high winds in the 60 mph range with gusts a bit higher Sunday night, Masters said.San Antonio and Austin are in the high wind area, and places where there hasn’t been a lot of rain will have a heightened wildfire risk, Masters said.Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen declared an emergency and mobilized the National Guard to help fight two dozen wildfires that have burned more than 550 square miles of range and grassland. Strong winds with gusts up to 60 mph and low humidity have fueled the fires and made them difficult to contain, but no one has been injured so far, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency said Friday.Even Alaska and Hawaii aren’t quite right-Maue said Hawaii is getting an atmospheric river with such persistent heavy rain that flooding will be a major issue. Oahu is under a flash flood warning.And Alaska is normally frigid now, but it will be about 30 degrees colder than usual, he said.It is “the time of year where we can see stuff like this,” Chenard said. “But this does seem even anomalous from what you would typically see. I mean, some of these areas will be setting records. Record-high temperatures for March and maybe multiple times.”In the past week or so, tornadoes have killed at least eight people in Oklahoma, Michigan and Indiana. The forecast for severe storms doesn’t look as big or widespread for the next week, but dangerous thunderstorms could pop up “anywhere from the Mississippi Valley toward the East Coast” on Sunday or Monday, Chenard said.The jet stream goes nuts-Underlying this is a jet stream gone wild, Maue and Chenard said.The jet stream is the river of air that moves weather from west to east on a roller coaster-like path. Usually, the plunges are as mild as a kiddie roller coaster. But now that jet stream is barreling down near-vertical, scream-inducing drops, followed by straight-up ascents.“Which means you get a lot of extremes next to each other,” Maue said. Storm fronts coming from the Pacific hit that high pressure heat dome in the Southwest and are pushed north to climb that mountainous jet stream peak, “grab access to that cold air reservoir up there” and bring it back down south down the other side of the hill, he said.Numerous studies have connected unusual jet stream and polar vortex activity to shrinking Arctic sea ice and human-caused climate change.But there is hope.“The first day of spring is 20th (of March), and then after that we get recovery,” Maue said.
Snow and wind batter parts of U.S. as severe flooding affects Hawaii-Blizzard conditions and high winds battered the Midwest, while forecasters warn a sweeping storm could bring damaging winds and tornadoes to the Eastern U.S. by Monday.March 15, 2026, 2:13 PM EDT / Updated March 15, 2026, 11:42 PM EDT / Source: The Associated Press.
CHICAGO — A broad and erratic patchwork of severe weather rumbled across much of the U.S. on Sunday, dumping heavy snow and making roads impassable in the Upper Midwest while damaging high winds swept across the Plains.Hawaii continued to be affected by severe flooding.And portions of the mid-South readied for late-day thunderstorms.Forecasters said the storms would spread eastward by Monday, with mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C., at greatest risk for high winds and tornadoes.Successive punches of snow, wind and severe weather were set to impact the eastern half of the United States, said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys.Beyond the threat to lives and property, “whether it’s wind gusts from a squall line, blizzard or snow, or just wind because of the storm, you’re looking at several major airports being impacted,” Roy said.Heavy snowfall in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan-An area from central Wisconsin to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was likely to see over 2 feet of snow, with higher isolated totals on the peninsula, Roys said. Lower snow accumulations in places su ch as Chicago and Milwaukee will likely create trouble for commuters on Monday, he added.Over 20 inches of snow fell in some portions of southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin as of Sunday afternoon, according to National Weather Service reports. Transportation officials warned of worsening conditions with low visibility and snow-covered roadways.Wisconsin snowplow driver Aaron Haas said it was one of the worst storms he had seen in years. On Sunday around the town of Marshfield, Haas was stacking piles of snow as high as his truck.“You can’t see anything when you’re on the highways outside of the city,” he said.Jim Allen, 45, who lives on the Upper Peninsula, said his family stocked up on necessities and he was ready to clear snow several times Sunday with a shovel and snowblower.“We’re basically prepared to just kind of hunker down for a few days if we need to,” Allen said.More than 600 flights were canceled at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport Sunday, according to FlightAware, which tracks flight disruptions. Dozens more through Detroit were also scrapped. O’Hare and Midway international airports in Chicago, where rain and snow was expected overnight into Monday, reported more than 850 cancellations.Landslides, rescues, collapsed home on Maui-Rain continued falling on Sunday in Hawaii, where acres of farmland and homes have been flooded, roads have been closed and shelters opened. PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide, reported almost 40,000 electric customers in Hawaii without power around midday Sunday.Flash flooding has been a major problem in recent days in places like Maui, Molokai and the Big Island, where rain had been falling from 1 to 2 inches an hour overnight, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.Some areas of Maui received more than 20 inches of rain, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in a social media post late Saturday.“We’re seeing flooding, landslides, sinkholes, debris and downed power lines across the county,” he said. Expressing gratitude in the Hawaiian language, the mayor added, “mahalo for continuing to look out for one another.”Video footage with Bissen’s post showed washed out or collapsed roads, a car stuck by floodwaters and raging waterways. National Guard members and fire department workers made multiple floodwater rescues, Bissen said.Tom and Carrie Bashaw said they could do little to prevent part of their home in Maui’s Iao Valley from collapsing beneath rising waters. On Friday, the water’s force starting overtaking nearby trees.“When we lost the mango and monkey pod, we started throwing stuff in bags and packing up,” Tom Bashaw told HawaiiNewsNow. They returned Saturday morning and “the whole backside of the house” was gone, he said.Maui resident and real estate broker Jesse Wald, who recorded video of a coastal road’s collapse Saturday, said other parts of road were flooded out by mud and sediment.“In the 20 years I’ve been here I’ve never seen this much rain,” Wald said. “I’m from Wisconsin and we get thunderstorms, you know pretty often in the summer, so it felt like a Wisconsin thunderstorm but times 10.”Maui County later on Sunday downgraded an evacuation notice and said crews were pumping water from retentions basins to keep them at safe levels.Power outages remain, some from earlier high winds.More than 210,000 utility customers in six Great Lakes states were without electricity as of Sunday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. Some originated on Friday when gusts in the region reached 85 mph.In Nebraska, about 30 National Guard members were deployed to combat multiple wildfires across a broad swath of range and grassland, state officials said.Three of the largest wildfires had damaged more than 900 square miles as of Saturday, officials said. One fire-related fatality was reported Friday. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen urged residents to follow locally-issued evacuation orders, adding that winds were “supposed to be extraordinary.”The weather service issued a high-wind warning for most of Nebraska, with gusts of up to 60 mph possible amid falling snow. Roys said high winds would affect a region stretching from the U.S.-Mexico border to the Great Lakes, and from Denver eastward to the Appalachian Mountains.Forecasters warn about line of storms, tornadoes-The weather service warned that a line of severe storms with damaging winds would cross much of the Eastern U.S. by late Monday. It was to begin Sunday afternoon and cross the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys.The storm threat was expected to enter the Appalachians early Monday, then move toward the East Coast, where “severe thunderstorms with widespread damaging winds and several tornadoes” were expected Monday, the service said.A stretch from parts of South Carolina to Maryland appeared most likely to experience the greatest damaging winds Monday afternoon, the weather service said. That could include Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia, and the nation’s capital. It said an increased — albeit much lower — risk stretched north to New York and south to Florida, with thunderstorms possible in New England.Officials said schools in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, North Carolina would be closed Monday and the state’s governor urged residents to enable emergency alerts on their phones ahead of expected wind gusts of 74 mph.
High winds cause power outages and property destruction as wild March weather blows in Record winds are just one part of the extreme weather hitting the country this weekend, with some facing blizzard conditions and others preparing for triple-digit heat.Syndication: Sheboygan Press-March 14, 2026, 1:31 PM EDT / Updated March 14, 2026, 1:46 PM EDT / Source: The Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power Saturday after high winds raked eastward from the Great Lakes region, leaving trees down and substantial property damage in their wake.Nearly 600,000 customers were still affected at midday in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.A top wind gust of 75 mph was recorded at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday, a speed comparable to an EF-0 tornado or a Category 1 Hurricane, according to the National Weather Service. Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport saw winds hit 85 mph Friday afternoon.Winds sent a semi truck toppling over in Toledo, Ohio, and took down an auto parts store sign in Baldwin, Pennsylvania. Trees and tree limbs fell into or onto homes and cars from Cleveland to Pittsburgh. The roof of a school building in the Chicago suburb of Niles, Illinois, was severely damaged by wind.High winds fueled multiple wildfires across a broad swath of Nebraska’s range and grassland, causing one death in Arthur County, officials said. The victim was not immediately identified and the sheriff’s office did not disclose other details about the death.What state officials have dubbed the Morrill County fire has burned at least 708 square miles across four counties since Thursday. At least 12 structures have been destroyed, according to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.In Colorado, Xcel Energy is planning for a public safety power shutoff beginning around 2 p.m. in Boulder and Jefferson counties, with outages expected outside of these areas as well.Widespread severe weather is forecast through the weekend across parts of Mississippi, Ohio, and the Tennessee Valleys, posing a threat of damaging winds and tornadoes in the area.Dangerous winds are but one piece of a wild weather mosaic that includes heavy rains in Hawaii, triple-digit heat ahead in Phoenix and the return of winter cold to the Midwest and Northeast. Chicago was expected to approach the single digits Fahrenheit by Tuesday, with Minneapolis seeing lows around zero.Several Minnesota cities have already declared snow emergencies starting Sunday, when what could be the season’s largest snowfall is expected to hit. Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are also in the crosshairs.AccuWeather is describing conditions as a “potent triple-threat March megastorm” from Sunday into Monday.“It’s definitely a very active weather weekend, that’s for sure,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist John Feerick said. “It’s a highly amplified pattern, which means you get a lot of extremes. Also, not just the Lower 48, but Hawaii’s getting hit hard right now with some very heavy rain.”Feerick said people along the Wisconsin-Iowa border might see some ice as travel conditions become dangerous in large parts of the Upper Midwest.
The sea is higher than we thought, and millions more are at risk, study finds-Using a more accurate coastal height baseline means a 3-foot rise in seas could inundate up to 37% more land and threaten 77 million to 132 million more people, researchers said.March 5, 2026, 4:24 AM EST / Source: The Associated Press
Climate change’s rising seas may threaten tens of millions more people than scientists and government planners originally thought because of mistaken research assumptions on how high coastal waters already are, a new study said.Researchers studied hundreds of scientific studies and hazard assessments, calculating that about 90% of them underestimated baseline coastal water heights by an average of 1 foot, according to Wednesday’s study in the journal Nature. It’s a far more frequent problem in the Global South, the Pacific and Southeast Asia, and less so in Europe and along Atlantic coasts.The cause is a mismatch between the way sea and land altitudes are measured, said study co-author Philip Minderhoud, a hydrogeology professor at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. And he attributed that to a “methodological blind spot” between the different ways those two things are measured.
Each way measures their own areas properly, he said. But where sea meets land, there’s a lot of factors that often don’t get accounted for when satellites and land-based models are used. Studies that calculate sea level rise impact usually “do not look at the actual measured sea level so they used this zero-meter” figure as a starting point, said lead author Katharina Seeger of the University of Padua in Italy. In some places in the Indo-Pacific, it’s close to 3 feet, Minderhoud said.One simple way to understand that is that many studies assume sea levels without waves or currents, when the reality at the water’s edge is of oceans constantly roiled by wind, tides, currents, changing temperatures and things like El Niño, Minderhoud and Seeger said.Adjusting to a more accurate coastal height baseline means that if seas rise by a little more than 3 feet — as some studies suggest will happen by the end of the century — waters could inundate up to 37% more land and threaten 77 million to 132 million more people, the study said.That would trigger problems in planning and paying for the impacts of a warming world.“You have a lot of people here for whom the risk of extreme flooding is much higher than people thought,” said Anders Levermann, a climate scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research in Germany, who wasn’t part of the study. And Southeast Asia, where the study finds the biggest discrepancy, has the most people already threatened by sea level rise, he said.Minderhoud pointed to island nations in that region as an area where the reality of the discrepancy hits home.For 17-year-old climate activist Vepaiamele Trief, the projections aren’t abstract. On her island home in the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu, the shoreline has visibly retreated within her short lifetime, with beaches eroded, coastal trees uprooted and some homes now barely 3 feet from the sea at high tide. On her grandmother’s island of Ambae, a coastal road from the airport to her village has been rerouted inland because of encroaching water. Graves have been submerged and entire ways of life feel under threat.“These studies, they aren’t just words on a paper. They aren’t just numbers. They’re people’s actual livelihoods,” she said. “Put yourself in the shoes of our coastal communities — their lives are going to be completely overturned because of sea level rise and climate change.”This new study is pretty much about what is the truth on the ground.Calculations that may be correct for the seas overall or for the land aren’t quite right at that key intersection point of water and land, Seeger and Minderhoud said. It’s especially true in the Pacific.“To understand how much higher a piece of land is than the water, you need to know the land elevation and the water elevation. And what this paper says the vast majority of studies have done is to just assume that zero in your land elevation dataset is the level of the water. When in fact, it’s not,” said sea level rise expert Ben Strauss, CEO of Climate Central. His 2019 study was one of the few the new paper said got it right.“It’s just the baseline that you start from that people are getting wrong,” said Strauss, who wasn’t part of the research.Other outside scientists said that Minderhoud and Seeger may be making too much of the problem.“I think they’re exaggerating the implications for impact studies a bit — the problem is actually well understood, albeit addressed in a way that could probably be improved,” said Gonéri Le Cozannet, a scientist at the French geological survey. Most local planners know their coastal issues and plan accordingly, Rutgers University sea level expert Robert Kopp said.The Associated Press.
Ethiopia declares national mourning as floods, landslides kill 80.
Nairobi, March 13 (AFP) Mar 13, 2026-Ethiopia's parliament on Friday declared three days of national mourning as the death toll from floods and landslides in the southern Gamo region rose to 80, with many still missing.Torrential rains this week in the remote Gamo zone have caused massive destruction.In a letter posted on Facebook, the house of representatives declared three days of mourning to start on Saturday "in honour of those who lost their lives".It said 80 people have been confirmed dead, with search and rescue operations still ongoing. Police had earlier warned the toll could rise well over 100.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization and himself Ethiopian, earlier posted on X that thousands had been displaced by the disaster.The WHO "immediately activated an emergency task team and deployed rapid response teams to the affected (areas) to support local health authorities", he said."Emergency medical supplies -- including trauma kits, cholera treatment materials, nutrition kits for children, and water disinfection supplies -- are being prepared for delivery," he added.
Earthquake hits north-east Turkey: disaster agency.
Ankara, March 13 (AFP) Mar 13, 2026-A magnitude 5.5 earthquake rattled north-east Turkey on Friday, the country's disaster management agency said.The tremor hit around 3:35 am (0035 GMT) in Tokat province, with no reports of damage, the Turkish disaster and emergency management authority said.The agency added it was continuing to assess the situation.The governor of Tokat announced that schools would be closed on Friday.Turkey is crisscrossed by several geological fault lines which have previously caused catastrophes in the country.A quake in February 2023 in the southwest killed at least 53,000 people and devastated Antakya, site of the ancient city of Antioch.
The rain in Spain was worst in nearly 50 years.
Madrid, March 12 (AFP) Mar 12, 2026-Spain endured its wettest January and February in almost half a century, with a string of deadly storms lashing the country, national weather agency AEMET said Thursday.The Iberian Peninsula is considered a frontline region for climate change, experiencing increasingly long heatwaves that sometimes start before summer, along with more frequent episodes of intense rainfall.Eleven major storms swept the country from late December to mid-February, bringing heavy rain and strong winds, said AEMET spokesman Ruben del Campo."January and February 2026 has been the rainiest in the last 47 years, highlighting the extraordinary nature of these events," he told reporters.Grazalema, one of the hardest-hit municipalities in southern Spain, saw more than a full year's expected rainfall in just a few days during the passage of Storm Leonardo in February.The intense flooding and risk of landslides prompted the authorities to evacuate the entire town and two people died as a result of the storm.Del Campo said the severity of Leonardo was "the footprint of climate change", noting that warmer oceans increase evaporation, while a warmer atmosphere retains more water vapour, resulting in heavier rainfall.Neighbouring Portugal also experienced its wettest February in 47 years, the Portuguese meteorological agency IPMA reported Tuesday.This was the eighth consecutive warm or very warm winter in Spain, with temperatures above average, a streak unprecedented in AEMET records, Del Campo said.He forecast a 50 percent to 70 percent probability that the coming spring will also be warmer than usual.
FAMINE
EZEKIEL 5:16
16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: 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, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
DEUTORONOMY 28:24
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, (SLAVE) to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
I KNOW THIS MARK WILL BE A MICROCHIP IMPLANT UNDER THE SKIN. LETS LOOK UP WHAT THE WORD MARK SAYS IN REVELATION 13:16-18, 14:9,11, 15:2, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4-ALL THESE VERSES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION SPEAK OF THIS DICTATORS MARK. NOW LETS SEE WHAT IT MEANS FROM STRONGS EXAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE. UNDER MARK PAGE 684.MARK UNDER MARK. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS UNDER HEBREW AND THE NEW TESTAMENT IS UNDER GREEK. SO WHEN WE LOOK UNDER REVELATION 13:16-17 WE SEE IT IS UNDER GREEK, SO WE GO TO GREEK IN THE BACK SECTION AND GO TO 5480 TO SEE WHAT IT SAYS THIS MARK WOULD BE. SO LETS GET TO IT.MARK IN STRONGS GREEK 5480 XAPAYUA CHARAGMA, KHAR-AG-MAH: FROM THE SAME AS 5482: A SCRATCH OR ETCHING, I.E STAMP (AS A BADGE OF SERVITUDE), OR SCULPTURED FIGURE-(STATUE):-GRAVEN, MARK FROM 5482 XAPAE CHARAX, KHAR-AX; FROM XAPAOOW CHARASSO (TO SHARPEN TO A POINT; AKIN TO 1125 THROUGH THE IDEA OF SCRATCHING); A STAKE, I.E (BYIMPL.) A PALISADE OR RAMPART (MILITARY MOUND FOR CIRCUMVALLATION IN A SIEGE): - TRENCH FROM 1125 YPAPOE GRAPHO, GRAF-0; A PRIM. VERB; TO "GRAVE", ESPEC. TO WRITE; FIG. TO DESCRIBE:-DESCRIBE, WRITE (-ING, -TEN).G5516-GO TO G4742-666 - STRONGS NT 4742: στίγμα - στίγμα, στιγματος, τό (from στίζω to prick; (cf. Latinstimulus, etc.; German stechen, English stick, sting, etc.; Curtius, § 226)), a mark pricked in or branded upon the body. According to ancient oriental usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or stamp of their master or commander branded or pricked (cut) into their bodies to indicate what master or general they belonged to, and there were even some devotees who stamped themselves in this way with the token of their gods (cf. Deyling, Observations, iii., p. 423ff); hence, τά στίγματα τοῦ (κυρίου so Rec.) Ἰησοῦ, the marks of (the Lord) Jesus, which Paul in Galatians 6:17 says he bears branded on his body, are the traces left there by the perils, hardships, imprisonments, scourgings, endured by him for the cause of Christ, and which mark him as Christ's faithful and approved votary, servant, soldier (see Lightfoots Commentary on Galatians, the passage cited). (Herodotus 7, 233; Aristotle, Aelian, Plutarch, Lcian, others.)
Middle East war: global economic fallout.
Paris, France, March 16 (AFP) Mar 16, 2026-Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war on Monday:- Oil rises, stocks fall -Oil prices rose further above $100 a barrel and Asian stocks mostly fell as the Iran war moved into a third week. A barrel of Brent was up almost three percent at nearly $106 in mid-morning trading in Europe.Crude rose after US President Donald Trump said at the weekend that forces struck military targets on Kharg Island, a scrubby stretch of land in the Gulf that handles almost all of Iran's oil exports.Trump warned attacks could expand to energy infrastructure if the Islamic republic interferes with transit through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the US-Israel operations began on February 28.- Japan starts releasing oil - Japan said Monday it was beginning the release of its strategic oil reserves after the International Energy Agency indicated earlier that the release would begin in Asia and Oceania before other regions.IEA members agreed on March 11 to tap oil stockpiles to cushion the surge in prices caused by the war -- by far the largest-ever response of its kind. The IEA said releases in Europe and North America would start before the end of March.- EU meets to talk energy - Energy ministers from the European Union's 27 nations gathered for talks in Brussels Monday to lay the groundwork for a Thursday summit, where leaders are set to discuss how to help families and businesses deal with soaring energy prices.Some countries have already announced domestic price caps or cut fuel taxes, while others are pushing for the EU to loosen its carbon-emissions trading scheme and to alter how electricity prices are set.- EU eyes Hormuz naval mission - EU foreign ministers Monday will discuss extending the bloc's Red Sea naval mission to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said.A fifth of the world's crude supplies and a substantial amount of gas normally run through the key waterway.An option on the table would be to change the mandate of the EU's naval mission in the Red Sea, Operation Aspides, Kallas said. That operation is to defend shipping from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi forces.- China maintains talks over Trump visit -Beijing said on Monday it is in talks with Washington over a visit by Trump expected this month, even after the US president suggested he would delay the planned summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping if Beijing does not assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.Beijing's foreign ministry said Beijing and Washington "are maintaining communication regarding President Trump's visit to China".- Dubai airport resumes flights -Flights gradually resumed at Dubai airport after a "drone-related incident" sparked a fire on Monday.The latest incident near what is usually the world's busiest airport for international travel affected a fuel tank, the Dubai media office said, later adding that authorities had contained the fire and reporting no injuries.- Drone sets off fire in UAE's Fujairah zone -A drone attack on oil infrastructure on the UAE's east coast sparked a fire on Monday."A large fire broke out in the Fujairah Oil Industries Zone as a result of being targeted by a drone, with no injuries reported," Fujairah authorities said, adding "efforts continue to bring it under control".The site sits on the UAE's Gulf of Oman coast, beyond the Strait of Hormuz.burs/gv/jhb
EU to discuss extending naval mission to Strait of Hormuz.
Brussels, Belgium, March 16 (AFP) Mar 16, 2026-EU foreign ministers will Monday discuss extending the bloc's Red Sea naval mission to help reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said.The Iran war has virtually halted activity in the key waterway, through which a fifth of the world's crude supplies and a substantial amount of gas normally run -- sending oil prices soaring."It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and that's why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard," Kallas told journalists in Brussels ahead of the talks.An option on the table would be to change the mandate of the EU's naval mission in the Red Sea, Operation Aspides, Kallas said.She suggested this would be the "fastest" way for the 27-member bloc to boost security in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian retaliatory attacks to a US-Israeli bombing campaign have largely halted maritime traffic."If we want to have security in this region, then it would be easiest to actually already use the operation that we have in the region, and maybe a change a bit," she said.But it remained to be seen whether EU member states were willing to use it to that end, Kallas added.A "coalition of the willing" could also be considered, Kallas added, without providing further details.Launched in 2024 to prevent attacks on trade vessels by Iran-backed Houthi rebel forces, Aspides currently has three warships -- one French, one Greek and one Italian.French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that Paris and its allies were preparing a "defensive" mission to reopen the strait.He has also pledged to increase France's contribution to Aspides, with two additional frigates "over the long term".On Sunday US President Donald Trump urged NATO allies to help open the Strait of Hormuz, warning the alliance faced a "very bad" future if they did not.
South Korea lifts coal cap, ramps up nuclear output amid energy concerns.
Seoul, March 16 (AFP) Mar 16, 2026-South Korea's ruling party said on Monday the country will lift a cap on coal-powered generation capacity set at 80 percent and boost the use of nuclear power to about the same level.The world's eighth-largest consumer of crude oil is feeling the squeeze on energy supplies as Iran has choked off the vital Strait of Hormuz, with the Middle East war now entering its third week.The disruption along the key oil route has sent prices soaring and prompted Seoul to impose a fuel price cap for the first time in nearly 30 years.Ahn Do-geol, an MP from the ruling Democratic party, told reporters after a meeting with relevant government agencies that the coal cap limiting generation to 80 percent would be lifted from Monday."Effective today the 80-percent cap will be removed," he said.The government will also raise the utilisation rate of nuclear reactors by more than 10 percent to help offset the impact of disrupted energy supplies, he said."Six reactors are currently undergoing maintenance, but we plan to complete maintenance on two of them by March and the remaining four by mid-May, raising the utilisation rate of nuclear power plants from the current high 60 percent-range to around 80 percent."Nuclear energy accounted for 31.7 percent of the country's total electricity production in 2024, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.The state-run Korea National Oil Corporation will bring in 3.35 million barrels of crude oil it is producing from its overseas projects by June, the MP said.Seoul said earlier this month it had struck a deal to ship around four million barrels of crude from the United Arab Emirates to bolster supplies.The government has said it holds oil reserves equivalent to about seven months of consumption.
Japan says bar high for sending warships to protect Gulf oil lane.
Tokyo, March 15 (AFP) Mar 15, 2026-A senior Japanese policy adviser said Sunday the threshold is "extremely high" for Tokyo to send its warships to help protect a shipping lane for oil in the Middle East, hours after US President Donald Trump's call for other countries to do so.Two weeks after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, the Gulf region remained in the grip of the conflict, sending oil prices soaring as Iran has choked off the vital Strait of Hormuz and attacked Gulf energy facilities.After earlier vowing that the US Navy would "very soon" begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump called for reinforcements on Saturday from countries including Japan.The world's number-four economy is the fifth-biggest importer of oil -- 95 percent of it from the Middle East and 70 percent passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which is now effectively closed."I regard the threshold as extremely high" for sending Japanese navy ships to the region under existing Japanese laws, Takayuki Kobayashi, the policy chief of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said Sunday on the public broadcaster NHK's political debate programme."Legally speaking, we do not rule out the possibility, but given the current situation in which this conflict is ongoing, I believe this is something that must be considered with great caution," he said.Sending its Self-Defense Forces abroad is politically sensitive in the officially pacifist Japan, as many voters support the US-imposed, war-renouncing 1947 constitution.Last week, Takaichi said at a parliament session "nothing has been decided" over whether to send Japanese warships to the Middle East to escort tankers.Takaichi is expected to visit Washington this week to hold talks with Trump, in which a range of issues including security in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the Iran war, will likely be discussed.Kobayashi said he would like to see Takaichi "ascertain what President Trump's true intentions are" over his call for reinforcements.He said he expected the leaders to discuss how Tokyo and Washington "can work closely together to ensure that there would be no vacuum in the security framework of East Asia" as US troops are reportedly being sent to the Gulf from their bases in Japan and South Korea.
Oil rises further above $100, stocks mixed as Iran war rages.
Hong Kong, March 16 (AFP) Mar 16, 2026-Oil prices rose further above $100 a barrel Monday and stocks fluctuated as the Iran war moved into a third week with both sides showing no sign of backing down and diplomats trying to ensure safe passage for tankers through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.Crude shot up in the opening minutes after the US president said at the weekend that forces struck military targets on Kharg Island, a scrubby stretch of land in the Gulf that handles almost all of Iran's oil exports.He also warned attacks could expand to energy infrastructure if the Islamic republic interferes with transit through Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the US-Israel operations began on February 28.Iran's Fars news agency reported soon after that no oil infrastructure was damaged in strikes.Trump urged other countries to send warships to keep the waterway open but offered no specifics or commitments from the US side, saying he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK would take part.He later wrote Saturday in a Truth Social post: "The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help -- A LOT!"This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be."However, Japan said Monday it was "not at the moment considering issuing a maritime security operation", while Australia announced it would not send any navy ships to the region.Trump said Tehran wanted a deal to end the fighting, but that he was not prepared to make one on current terms, without giving further details.Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was not interested in talks with Washington."We don't see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us," he told CBS's "Face The Nation" in an interview aired Sunday."We never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation," he added.However, he did say he was ready to speak to countries "who want to talk to us about the safe passage of their vessels"."I cannot mention any country in particular, but we have been approached by a number of countries" seeking such safe passage, Araghchi said.The two sides continued to exchange fire Monday, with Saudi Arabia saying it had intercepted more than 60 drones since midnight, while flights were temporarily suspended at Dubai's airport after a "drone-related incident" sparked a fire nearby.Araghchi described Israeli strikes on Tehran fuel depots as "ecocide" owing to the long-term risks to residents' health.Traders hoping for an early end to the conflict were left disappointed after Trump's top economics adviser Kevin Hassett said the Pentagon estimates it could take up to six weeks, though the operation was ahead of schedule.Both main crude contracts advanced. Brent shot up around three percent to as high as $106.50 before paring the gains to about $104, while West Texas Intermediate sat just above $99.The rise came as Japan said it was beginning the release of its strategic oil reserves after the International Energy Agency indicated earlier that the release would begin in Asia and Oceania before other regions.IEA members agreed last week to release a record 400 million barrels from stockpiles to cushion the surge in prices caused by the war.With worries growing about a possible energy crisis that could hammer the global economy, equity markets remained under pressure.Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Wellington, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta were all down, though Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai and Bangkok rose."The impact of geopolitical events on markets, and the macro outlook, hinges more on when transits through the Strait of Hormuz begin to normalise, than it does on when hostilities come to an end," wrote Michael Brown at Pepperstone."The longer the Strait is impassable, the tighter commodity supply will become, thus the higher prices will likely go, and the greater the inflationary impulse that will follow."Adding to economic concerns was data showing Friday that fourth-quarter US gross domestic product expanded 0.7 percent, much slower than the initial reading of 1.4 percent.And delayed figures showed the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge dipped to 2.8 percent in January before energy prices shot higher."Developments over the weekend, while no more disconcerting than at the end of last week, don't offer any obvious pretext for a less pessimistic start to the new trading week," warned National Australia Bank's Ray Attrill.Also in view this week are policy meetings at seven major central banks including the Fed, Bank of England and the European Central Bank.While they are expected to stand pat on interest rates, any remarks on the impact of the war on their respective economies will be closely followed.- Key figures at around 0700 GMT - West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $99.30 per barrel-Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.5 percent at $104.68 per barrel-Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 53,751.15 (close)-Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.4 percent at 25,832.0-Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,084.79 (close)-Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1426 from $1.1416 on Friday-Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3242 from $1.3223-Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.40 yen from 159.74 yen-Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.27 pence from 86.33 pence-New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 46,558.47 points (close)-London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 10,261.15 (close)-dan/ane
Ambitious biometrics projects need clear roles for success.
Mar 14, 2026, 3:14 pm EDT | Chris Burt-Biometrics technology development has long been the fixed domain of experts, and while public bodies like NIST have played a key role, most of it in the private sector. For digital identity, the best division of roles in a complex ecosystem is not always so clear, as seen in the top stories of the week on Biometric Update. A new contract for GenKey and an ambitious plan in the UK illustrate the breadth of approaches available, while a UK startup finds opportunity among ongoing shifts in previously comfortable partnerships.If we build it, they will adopt-The UK government is moving forward with plans to build its national digital ID and digital wallet in-house. The app will handle automated services from several departments, though not the NHS, but many other details about what it will do are pending the results of a public consultation on now.The British public seems to prefer a government-supplied app, in part due to fears about “big tech,” according to qualitative research from Hippo Digital. What exactly people are being asked to trust is sufficiently murky as the consultation begins, however, to render practically any conclusions premature.Sweden’s government-issued alternative to the popular BankID digital identity service is expected to launch by the end of this year. The coming e-ID will have the highest trust level under eIDAS, which BankID does not.South African digital ID cards can now be obtained directly from banks, with the Department of Home Affairs announcing the move in an attempt to reduce queues at its offices. More than a dozen bank branches rolled out ID issuance kiosks as the phased rollout began this week.GenKey will produce Comoros’ biometrics passports and ID cards, under a new contract, with the transition leading to a pause in ID issuance. Production will expand from one to three of the archipelago nation’s islands under the build-operate-transfer contract.Spain’s AEPD has taken the position that Yoti violated GDPR rules around unlawful processing, calid consent and excessive data retention with its digital ID app, and levied a $1.1 million fine. The consent issue seems relatively easy to resolve by changing some default settings and design choices.Europe’s security cameras and sensors are outdated and a sovereign alternative is needed, according to UK startup Augur. Now the company, which uses anonymized movement and behavior pattern analysis instead of facial recognition, has raised $15 million.Two key biometrics considerations-Biometric data quality was a topic frequently returned to throughout MOSIP Connect 2026. It came up in discussions ranging from familiar challenges with cameras processing facial photos of people with dark skin to the launch of the openbq data analysis platform by Biometix, the importance of ensuring quality enrollment.The quality of biometric presentation attack detection performance seems highly variable between different vendors, based on the Phase 3 results of the RIVR evaluation. MdTF found Paravision liveness highly effective, Idemia’s good, and the other 16 entrants are mostly glad they were anonymized.Aging like a strong cheese-Age assurance continues to generate headlines around the world, introducing digital identity and biometrics concepts to consumers, in many cases for the first time.U.S. Congress is advancing a pair of bills that could remake how American children use the internet. The KIDS Act being considered in the House includes extensive age verification requirements, while changes to COPPA 2.0 would mean more age verification and other responsibilities for tech companies.Digital Arcadia Owner and Product Engineer Patrick Jeter explains in a Biometric Update guest post why the “age signal” now available at the OS level will not meet the demands of global regulators.Online age checks took steps forward in Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia and the EU, one step back in the UK, while clarity is sought in California. The EU believes it is nearly ready, while more can be done according to the UK ICO and the Age Assurance Standards Summit’s draft communique.NIST sets the standard-Nominee for the position of NIST Director Arvind Raman declined to commit to keeping public access to the agency’s facial recognition testing open in questioning by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Senators from both parties agreed on the importance of NIST’s work in setting technical standards.And NIST’s NCCoE has published a draft concept paper on how identity and access management frameworks should accommodate AI agents.Authologic Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Jarek Sygitowicz shared his take on EUDI Wallets and the “cold start” problem in an interview with Biometric Update.In the penultimate episode of the season for The Trust Files, SafeGuarden’s David Crack presents his vision for community-based, user-controlled digital identity.Please let us know if you come across any podcasts, thought leadership or other content you think we should share with the people in biometrics and the broader digital identity community in the comments below or through social media.
Who holds the keys to digital sovereignty? It might not be who you think-Digital identity sovereignty is about more than what building the servers are in.
Mar 13, 2026, 3:18 pm EDT | Chris Burt-As governments think more about digital identity as a pillar of digital public infrastructure, and therefore a matter of vital national interest, it is perhaps inevitable that concerns around sovereignty arise.At MOSIP Connect 2026 in Rabat, Morocco, identity sovereignty came up repeatedly, from keynote addresses to small panels and side discussions.A Day 1 session on “Strengthening Digital Sovereignty through Sovereign Cloud Adoption: Enabling Trusted and Scalable DPI” addressed the topic head-on.Pete Herlihy of Amazon Web Services presented AWS Outposts, which run a sovereign cloud within the host country’s data center as a dedicated tenant. The service is specifically designed for countries that do not have an AWS region or local zone in which to deploy a cloud instance to run their ID system.The UN also has its own ICT services arm, the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC). The open-source driven body uses shared infrastructure to build replicable applications, and in that capacity has helped to build self-sovereign identity (SSI) system for countries facing shortfalls in trust and capacity.The UNICC introduced its UNIQCloud at the beginning of 2025 to help UN entities and international organizations complete digital transformation while also protecting their sensitive data.Following presentations from AWS and UNICC, a digital sovereignty panel discussed the relative importance of data residency and access, and of cloud sovereignty, which the participants agreed should be considered only a part within a larger issue.Keeping your own cryptographic keys is actually more important to sovereignty than some of these other measures, panelists argued.In a Day 3 unconference session, the issue was discussed again, with Gluu Founder Michael Schwartz pointing out that governments tend to be better at governance controls than they are at tasks like operating data centers.In his view, the sovereignty of a digital identity system is better protected by careful consideration and mitigation of risks than by imposing measures like strict data residency rules.How well a national ID system pays its engineers may also be more indicative of its robustness than who owns the server racks. Singapore pays GovTech engineers market rate, but as Next ID Director Adam Cooper pointed out, GovTech uses AWS.Schwartz suggests there may be misalignment between the messaging of digital public goods (DPGs) and the reality of ensuring sovereign control over ID systems, and the resilience desired may require some compromise.Idemia Business Developer and Head of Biometric Terminals Adil Choukri pointed out that Morocco dealt with a wave of cyberattacks on its public sector systems with several data centers dispersed across the country – all running an Azure sovereign cloud with Oracle security.Consensus emerged from the discussion that open-source technologies can provide the community-hardening that protects them from cyberattacks and other threats to critical national systems, but also that a critical mass of IT talent is necessary for a country to effectively protect its digital assets.With Europe attempting to assert its digital sovereignty and U.S. diplomats instructed last month to push back against data sovereignty initiatives, the issue is global, and it is not going away.
Spain’s Digital Transformation Ministry backs Sybol with €500k.
Mar 13, 2026, 3:03 pm EDT | Lu-Hai Liang-A Spanish digital transformation agency is helping to fund digital identity development and verifiable credentials.The Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), an agency under the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration, has invested €500,000 (US$573,000) in Sybolid Identity (Sybol).The Madrid‑based startup develops secure digital identity technology for corporate environments. Sybol builds digital identity models based on international standards for exchanging verifiable credentials.Its platform enables companies to issue, request and verify digital credentials across critical inter‑company processes. These replace slower manual document checks that can be error‑prone and vulnerable to fraud. The company targets sectors where identity assurance and compliance are central to operations such as energy, industry, construction, logistics and telecommunications.Sybol’s technology supports workflows such as onboarding suppliers, employees and clients, helping organizations meet internal requirements as well as official regulations. By using verifiable credentials, sensitive information can be shared and reused securely and in a standardized format.Sybol’s platform is modular and designed to integrate with existing corporate systems, allowing organizations to configure their own workflows or adopt predefined ones. The solution is already in use within multinational energy companies, according to a SETT release.The investment forms part of a broader public‑private initiative led by SETT, bringing total project funding to more than €1 million with the participation of additional private investors. The Spanish ministry for digital transformation has previously invested in a chips and cybersecurity center, with digital identity firms involved.The initiative aligns with the Spanish government’s strategy to accelerate digitalization across the business ecosystem and promote the adoption of advanced technologies developed with domestic talent. SETT is financing the operation through its Next Tech facility, supported by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (Next Generation EU funds).
Ethiopia’s digital ID joins sovereign wealth fund as weekly enrollments reach 1M.
Mar 13, 2026, 3:00 pm EDT | Ayang Macdonald-Ethiopia is accelerating its efforts to reach 90 million digital ID enrollments this year, with the National ID Program (NIDP) registering an estimated one million people every week. As enrollments accumulate, they are also providing the critical mass to generate sustainable revenue.The enrolment figures were disclosed recently by NIDP Executive Director Yodahe Zemichael during a forum to raise awareness about the importance of the Fayda digital ID, New Business Ethiopia reports.At the forum, Zemichael revealed that more than 37 million individuals have now been enrolled for the digital ID, and a strategy is in place to nearly triple that number by June. He added that efforts are also being intensified in rural and hard-to-reach areas of the country to ensure that many citizens are served.As these efforts continue, Fayda has joined the Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) portfolio, Birrmetrics reports. The NIDP joins Ethiopia’s sovereign wealth fund and public enterprise commercialization engine with an authorized capital 10 billion birr (roughly US$64 million) and 2.5 billion birr ($16 million) in paid-up capital.Zemichael told Birrmetrics that the NIDP has previously operated as a project office, but is in the middle of a transition to operate as a development entity.As it does so, the fees Fayda is generating from businesses is not just contributing to the national coffers. Project-financed card sourcing is expected to drive down the cost of ID cards from 350 birr to 150 birr ($2.25 to $1) within the next six months.While soliciting stakeholder support in advancing the digital ID registration process, the NIDP Executive Director particularly urged the media to promote the importance of the initiative.The Ethiopian government is paying close attention to the evolution of the Fayda project, as it considers it the engine of the country’s digital transformation and a central pillar of the Digital Ethiopia 2030 strategy launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last year.Apart from streamlining identification, the Fayda digital ID is also vital for accessing a wide range of services in the public and private sectors. Beyond citizens, the digital ID is also said to be making life easier for refugees and other forcibly displaced persons in the country, in a move that is seen as driving social and digital inclusion.A case study from Integrated Biometrics outlines how the company’s Kojak fingerprint scanners have been instrumental in the registration process for the digital ID. According to the company, the scanners, which are MOSIP-compliant, durable and portable, are used to capture quality fingerprints even when deployed in adverse weather conditions.
Medicare beneficiaries get new online identity verification options-Enhanced login with ID.me, CLEAR or Login.gov part of a gov't push to tighten account security, reduce fraud.
Mar 13, 2026, 12:10 pm EDT | Anthony Kimery-The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that is rolling out what it calls enhanced login options for Medicare.gov, giving beneficiaries who create a new account or verify their identity a choice of ID.me, CLEAR or Login.gov as part of a broader push to tighten account security and reduce fraud.CMS said the new options are free, meet federal security standards, and are meant to better protect Medicare information from identity theft and unauthorized access. The most relevant federal security standard is Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2) verification. The criteria for IAL2 is defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in its Digital Identity Guidelines, SP 800-63. The Kantara Initiative accredited selfie biometrics solutions from Clear for IAL2 last year, Login.gov in 2024, and ID.me back in 2023.Under the new setup, Medicare users do not need a smartphone, a REAL ID or even an existing Medicare.gov account to access general information, according to CMS.The agency said beneficiaries can use options such as phone support, public computers and, in some cases, in person identity verification.CMS also stressed that any facial recognition used by some providers is a one-time identity check, requires permission, and is not used for surveillance or tracking.The move follows contract activity CMS began outlining late last year with private sector identity companies. At that time, ID.me had secured a CMS contract to provide identity verification and sign in services for Medicare.gov, with the integration expected to go live in early 2026.CMS viewed the change as a way to strengthen security, streamline access and reduce fraud across Medicare’s online services, while also making use of credentials some beneficiaries may already have through other federal agencies.CLEAR also won a CMS deal tied to Medicare.gov to provide biometric identity verification for Medicare beneficiaries and providers through its Clear1 platform, which the company described as a high assurance digital identity layer for healthcare.The move was part of CMS’s wider digital transformation agenda, including its effort to create a more interoperable health technology ecosystem.For CMS, the significance of its latest announcement is that those contract decisions are now becoming visible to the public as part of the Medicare login experience itself.Beneficiaries can choose among private sector providers ID.me and CLEAR or the government run Login.gov service, while CMS keeps medical information in its own systems and says identity verification data is stored separately by the chosen provider.
