| DAILY ALERT |
Sunday, March 29, 2026 |
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
An Iranian combined missile and drone strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on Friday injured 12 U.S. troops, two of them seriously. At least two KC-135 aerial refueling planes suffered significant damage. More than 50 people have been killed in Gulf countries and at least 16 in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials said. (New York Times) President Trump said Thursday he would delay attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure by an additional 10 days - extending his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz - as he cited progress in negotiations with Tehran. (Washington Post) Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of the naval forces of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday. Tangsiri had been leading Iran's effort to close the Strait of Hormuz to almost all shipping traffic. He was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. in 2019, with additional sanctions added in 2024 related to drone development. The commander of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, said the death of Tangsiri "from an Israeli airstrike makes the region safer. Tangsiri commanded the IRGC-N for eight years, during which time the IRGC harassed thousands of innocent merchant mariners, attacked hundreds of vessels with one-way attack drones and missiles, and killed countless innocent civilians." (New York Times-X) The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen entered the month-old war in the Middle East on Saturday, launching a missile that Israel intercepted. (AP) See also Why the Houthis Chose to Join the War Now - Ron Ben-Yishai There is likely a strategic military reason why the Houthis, at Iran's request, chose to join the fighting now and launch a missile toward Israel. Their apparent aim is to hinder the movement of U.S. aircraft carriers through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Israel may be required to assist the U.S. in countering the Houthis and protecting the aircraft carriers. This could involve strikes against Houthi targets, opening an additional front that the Israeli military has already prepared for. (Ynet News) The U.S. and Israel are pounding Iran's missile-launching sites, hitting some over and over across almost a month of war. But Tehran's missiles keep flying. Iran has shifted to firing from deeper inside its territory with longer-range missiles after airstrikes early in the war inflicted a heavy toll on Iranian bases and truck launchers near the Persian Gulf coastline. Iran is firing far fewer missiles now, "but they don't need to," said Gen. (ret.) Joseph Votel, former commander of U.S. Central Command. "All they really have to do is get something through, and they get a big bang for the buck." Halting the war with Iran's missile arsenal damaged but still intact would allow it to rebuild over time, salvaging missiles from underground bases and rebuilding production factories, analysts said. Instead of firing at military targets, Iran has shifted to hitting oil facilities, hotels and civilian areas, said Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington. "If they get any hits, they have greater impact." (Wall Street Journal) For several weeks now, the Iranians have been firing 10-15 missiles a day at Israel. One reason for Iran's resilience is the way its fortified missile bases were built over decades deep underground. According to a CNN investigation, the Revolutionary Guards have dug 27 underground missile cities carved deep into granite mountains, with dozens of exit tunnels connected by automatic trains and with pop-up doors that effectively protect them from air attacks. While Air Force planes are attacking the tunnel openings, the Iranians built many exit openings so that when one exit opening is disabled, trains loaded with missiles are diverted to other openings. Moreover, many dummy openings were built that do not actually lead into the tunnels, and other openings were built in camouflage, so that they appear to be a natural part of the mountain's contours. The facilities usually include heavy engineering teams who assist in the restoration of the openings. (Globes) Massive chunks of Iranian missiles have slammed to the earth after being shot out of the sky by Israeli air defense systems. Some are the size of small trucks, littering schoolyards, roadsides and hilltops. At least 270 missile fragments have fallen across the West Bank, the majority near Ramallah, with others landing near Nablus, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Salfit, according to the Palestinian Authority. (Reuters) See also Photos of Iranian Missile Hulls in Israel and the PA (Times of Israel) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
A regional diplomatic source familiar with the contacts between the U.S. and Iran said Washington had rejected an Iranian demand for a full ceasefire even before Tehran delivers an official response to the American proposal. Iran asked for a delay of five to seven days in order to formulate a position and demanded that the fighting be halted during that time. Behind the U.S. refusal is a clear position that the fighting should not be halted without a prior Iranian commitment to basic conditions. According to diplomatic sources, Israel and the Gulf states are working in close coordination with Washington to prevent an early ceasefire that would not include such commitments. (Israel Hayom) Sgt. Moshe Yitzchak Hacohen Katz, 22, was killed Friday night by Hizbullah rocket fire in Lebanon, the IDF announced Sunday. Katz, 22, a soldier in the Paratroopers Brigade, was born in New Haven, Conn. Three other soldiers were wounded in the attack. (Jerusalem Post-Ynet News) Vyacheslav Vidmant, 52, a security guard, was killed and several others were wounded by an Iranian cluster-bomb missile late Friday in Tel Aviv. Iran has fired more than 450 ballistic missiles at Israel since the war began on Feb. 28. (Times of Israel) Ori Peretz, 43, was killed in a Hizbullah rocket strike on Nahariya on Thursday. He is survived by his wife and three children, ages 8, 6 and 4. In the same strike, a man in his 50s was critically wounded and 13 others were lightly injured by shrapnel and blast impact. Also Thursday, the IDF said Sgt. Aviad Elchanan Volansky, 21, was killed by Hizbullah anti-tank fire in southern Lebanon. (Ynet News) Hizbullah fired over 600 times on Israel and IDF troops on Thursday, with the vast majority of the rockets, mortars, and drones launched at IDF forces in southern Lebanon. IDF Northern Command head Maj.-Gen. Rafi Milo announced Thursday that the IDF has killed 750 Hizbullah fighters since the start of the current conflict. (Jerusalem Post) Israel attacked Iran's Khandab heavy water reactor in Arak, as well as a uranium enrichment facility in Ardakan, on Friday, the IDF said. Friday's attacks also targeted a military industry facility used for the production of a variety of weapons, an Iranian Ministry of Defense site used for the development and production of advanced explosive devices, and a site used for the production of components for ballistic missiles and anti-aircraft missiles. The IDF earlier hit an Iranian chemical weapons research facility. (Jerusalem Post) Iran on Thursday launched eight missile barrages toward Israel. The fifth attack, involving a cluster missile, caused damage across multiple impact sites, including a shopping complex in Kiryat Ata where the iJump play center was heavily damaged. No injuries were reported. The facility had become a refuge for local children and families during the war. (Ynet News) The IDF Spokesperson said Friday that Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon found hundreds of weapons inside a school, "including anti-tank rockets, mortar shells, grenades, launchers, small arms, mines, explosives and mine mechanisms. All this alongside symbols of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) organization." (Ynet News) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
Iran Iran is being pounded by two powers whose aircraft it is powerless to stop. Each day the damage increases, its capabilities decline, and its neighbors turn further against it. The regime has been offered a ceasefire that reportedly includes the removal of all sanctions. All it has to do is give up the nuclear, missile and proxy capabilities to continue its "death to America" foreign policy. By scorning this offer, the Iranian regime makes the case for President Trump to give the war more time and see the mission through. On Wednesday, Adm. Brad Cooper of U.S. Central Command said 2/3 of Iran's missile, drone and naval production facilities and shipyards have been destroyed or damaged. He's on track to complete that job, he said. Trump Administration officials tell us that four weeks of war have yielded valuable successes, but to end now would be an incomplete victory. Additional weeks can further degrade Iran's capabilities and set back the regime's threat to the region for years even if it survives. (Wall Street Journal) Speculation is flying that President Trump, buffeted by rising gas prices and domestic political concerns, is desperate for an off-ramp and looking for a deal with Iran to end the war. These rumors are wrong. I know from well-placed sources that Trump has never been more determined to see this military campaign through to completion. Retired Army Gen. Jack Keane told me that Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, needs another three weeks to win. Given that time, Keane said, "the combined force will accomplish all assigned objectives...to include opening the Strait of Hormuz by force and keeping it open" and taking "nuclear enrichment...off the board completely by military operations." U.S. negotiations with Iran are a sign not of desperation but strength. He is willing to talk with Iran - but while he negotiates, he is pummeling the regime. The message to Iran is that either the regime gives Trump what he demands, or the U.S. will take it from them. Trump is right to pursue both options at once - speaking to the remnants of the regime while ruthlessly battering them from the sea and skies. If the U.S. takes control of Kharg Island, through which 96% of Iran's crude oil exports pass, it controls Iran's oil - and thus its economy. Once military operations conclude, Iran's surviving leaders should be told in no uncertain terms: If you continue executions or fire on protesters, you will pay a heavy price. This threat will create space for the Iranian people to organize, form an opposition and force democratic change. We are closer to the end than the beginning and the military campaign is "exceeding expectations," Keane said. The writer is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush. (Washington Post) Analyzing the use of the term "war crime" by the BBC, CNN, NBC, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, CAMERA found 32 total applications of the phrase during the first three weeks of the war (Feb. 28-Mar. 21). Of those, 28 (88%) were directed solely toward the actions of the U.S. and/or Israel. Zero were directed solely toward the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran's wartime acts that escaped the media's "war crimes" focus include the over 400 ballistic missiles fired at Israel, half of which were cluster munitions which drop dozens of submunitions over a wide radius of five miles. As of Mar. 22, at least two dozen of these missiles have hit populated areas, with over 100 separate impact sites. Using cluster munitions to target populated areas almost certainly constitutes a war crime. Iranian regime forces have also hit other civilian targets, including multiple hotels and airports in the UAE, and oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain - countries which did not join the war. Yet, not one of the five news outlets used the phrase "war crime" regarding these Iranian acts. This journalistic malpractice creates a perception of illegitimacy against the U.S. and Israel by associating the word "war crimes" with their actions. Simultaneously, these outlets are creating a perception of legitimacy for the Iranian regime even as it regularly lobs cluster munitions at densely populated cities. Through their imbalanced coverage, these outlets are effectively aiding the Iranian regime toward accomplishing its strategic objectives by distorting reality. (CAMERA) After Iran fired two missiles at Diego Garcia, the joint UK-U.S. base in the Indian Ocean 4,000 km. from Iran, the attack suggests that most of Europe, including London, are now within the regime's expanding reach, as Israeli officials have warned. Steve Reed, a cabinet minister, noted that one missile failed and the other was intercepted, concluding that Britain possesses "perfectly adequate resources" to keep itself safe. This risks mistaking good fortune for sound strategy. A policy premised on continued Iranian technical failures and successful interception hardly constitutes robust defense planning. Iran has long called not just for the death of the U.S. and Israel but for Britain too. Wishful thinking, or waiting for a threat to mature fully before responding, is not prudence; it is negligence. The Islamic Republic is pursuing intercontinental missile capability that serves no purpose against Israel or the Gulf states but would put Europe, the UK and the U.S. within its reach. It also sustains a network of terror proxies and operatives extending far beyond the Middle East. (Jewish Chronicle-UK) I wake up every morning in Tel Aviv having survived another day. Sirens go off in the middle of the night. I step onto my balcony and hear the never-ending construction. I moved my husband and four kids to Israel in January for a Fulbright Fellowship, arriving weeks before the war began. We are living through the first alt-war: a conflict in which the war fought online and the war fought in reality have diverged so completely that they might as well be happening on different planets. Most mornings, my phone is full of panicked messages. They have all seen the videos of intense missile barrages ravaging Tel Aviv. One video sent to me featured what were ostensibly Israelis marching in droves, on foot across the Judaean mountains, escaping the country as it collapsed behind them. The videos I've been sent are all fake. They are either generated by artificial intelligence or simply old footage from somewhere else. I know, because I am here. What worries me more than the fake videos are the people who cannot fathom that this war is going well for the U.S., for Israel, and maybe even for the long-suffering people of Iran. Markets know this even when pundits refuse to acknowledge it. Kobby Barda, a political analyst at Holon Institute of Technology, pointed me to the most telling indicator: Israel's stock market surged when the fighting began and has remained near all-time highs. "Markets don't lie," he told me. "Right now they're telling you Israel comes out of this stronger." In the alt-war, Tel Aviv is burning, Washington never heard of the Strait of Hormuz before last week, and the whole enterprise is doomed. Meanwhile, in the real war, Israel, bruised and tired, keeps building toward a better future for itself and the region. The writer is a professor at the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. (Washington Post) The degree to which Israel's fight is on behalf of America is demonstrated by the case of the leader of Iran's ballistic missile program, Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, who was working on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program when he was killed in 2011 in an explosion attributed to Israel. Iranian development of an ICBM poses no additional threat to Israel that Iran's existing ballistic missile arsenal does not already pose - the death of Moghaddam increased America's security, not Israel's. The writer, former counter-terrorism advisor to two Israeli prime ministers, is founder and president of the Middle East Media Research Institute. (MEMRI) Israeli Resilience The World Happiness Report 2026 was released last week and, to the frustration of our many enemies, Israel is for the second year in the 8th slot out of 147 countries ranked. The 2026 report is based on a three-year average for the years 2023-2025 - the period every Israeli will forever associate with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and mega-atrocity, the consequent war and rocket and killer drone attacks from seven fronts, and the huge surge globally in antisemitic attacks. Never underestimate Israeli spirit and resilience. We're neither down, nor out. The report found that Israelis under the age of 25 are the happiest age group within the country's population and in third place in the world. As Douglas Altabef wrote in the Jerusalem Post, "Our young people...have embraced the mission of protecting the country they love. They have internalized the importance of Israel and the need for Israel for their defense, protection, and nurturing of it. While their 18-year-old peers elsewhere are learning about safe spaces or acceptable pronouns in colleges and universities, or creating false identities for themselves on social media, young Israelis [doing military service] are learning that it's not about me, but about us." (Jerusalem Post) Observations: Iran's Fantasy of Strength - Pierre Rehov (Gatestone Institute)
The writer is a French reporter, novelist and documentary filmmaker. |
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