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Monday, March 16, 2026 |
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin told CNN on Sunday: "We have thousands of targets ahead. We are ready, in coordination with our U.S. 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." The IDF is "not working according to a stopwatch, or a timetable, but rather to achieve our goals" which are to "weaken the Iranian regime severely." (CNN) A source inside Iran has revealed that the state's most brutal security forces are not only penetrated by enemy services and in disarray - they are turning on each other. "More than 60 incidents have been documented across virtually every branch of the regime's military and security apparatus, spanning multiple regions simultaneously." "There are many reports of IRGC soldiers being executed for desertion. It's happening constantly. IRGC leaders are also regularly executing subordinates for refusing to carry out orders." At the same time, bodies of regime officials showing signs of torture have been turning up dumped in streets and other public places. The victims come from across Iran's security apparatus. Opposition groups are believed to be responsible for some of the killings. Even Iranian missile teams are penetrated, with their equipment reportedly breaking down mysteriously. Authorities suspect sabotage and the incidents are followed by investigations, arrest - and yet more executions. Paranoia is at an all-time high. Another growing source of chaos is the regime's failure to pay its thugs. Across Iran, soldiers and security personnel have reportedly threatened to abandon their posts after months of unpaid salaries and pensions. "When the smoke clears, people will be surprised at how degraded the regime's machinery of terror is. It's only a matter of time before it starts breaking down. No one seems to understand just how much trouble the regime is now in," the source concluded. (Daily Mail-UK) In the largely deserted streets of Beirut's once-teeming southern suburbs, a few locals were hauling suitcases from their homes between the bombings, which continued on Saturday night. During a tour of the area, The Times saw countless buildings reduced to piles of rubble, while others spilt their contents onto the streets after ordnance ripped their sides off. Near the smoldering remains of a branch of a Hizbullah bank, party officials set up a makeshift office with plastic chairs. Ghassan Hasbani, a Christian MP for the Lebanese Forces party, said he was fed up with Hizbullah sparking conflict in Lebanon. "Hizbullah started this by attacking Israel to protest the death of the Ayatollah, dragging Lebanon into a regional conflict it has nothing to do with," he said. On Friday, Israeli planes dropped leaflets calling on the Lebanese to disarm Hizbullah and contact Israeli intelligence to inform on the whereabouts of fighters or risk seeing Lebanon razed to the ground like Gaza. (Sunday Times-UK) In Tel Aviv, which bears the brunt of Iranian drone and missile fire, people are woken several times each night by air-raid sirens. Many who don't have a special reinforced room in their home choose to camp in communal bunkers instead of scrambling to safety every time an alert goes off. Some have turned into little underground villages, with families living in tents and children's toys strewn about. Still, an overwhelming majority of Israelis support the current war against Iran, seeing the Islamic Republic as an existential threat to the Jewish state that has to be dealt with sooner rather than later. A new poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 12 days into the operation, 81% of those surveyed were still in favor of the war. Virtually everyone with a smartphone has installed an app from the military's Home Front Command, which overrides silent mode to blast out early warnings. Above ground, Israel's cities still have the appearance of normalcy. At Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square, cafes are crowded with customers, ready on a moment's notice to put down their coffee cups and file calmly toward the nearest bunker in the event of an air incursion. (Wall Street Journal) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday: "The IDF has begun a ground maneuver in Lebanon to remove threats and protect the residents of the Galilee and the north. Hundreds of thousands of Shiite residents of south Lebanon who have evacuated and are evacuating from their homes will not return to the area south of the Litani [River] until the safety of the residents of the north is guaranteed." Katz said the military was told to destroy terror infrastructure close to the border "just as was done against Hamas in Rafah, Beit Hanoun and the terror tunnels in Gaza." He said, "Hizbullah will pay a heavy price for its aggression and its role in the Iranian axis seeking to destroy Israel." (Times of Israel) See also IDF Estimates Fighting in Lebanon Will Last Weeks - Yair Kraus A senior military official in the IDF Northern Command said, "The expectation is that the war in the north and the efforts to eliminate and strike Hizbullah could last for weeks." The IDF's plan is to exploit the campaign against the "head of the octopus" - Iran - and once a significant portion of its objectives is achieved, to turn to severing the "arms of the octopus" - Hizbullah. The IDF says the concept is forward defense, under which Israeli forces push the fighting into enemy territory. The goal is to allow normal life to return as quickly as possible to Israel's border communities that will not be evacuated and to conduct the fighting inside southern Lebanon. Israeli forces are currently operating at a depth of 7-9 km. inside Lebanese territory. An officer in the Lebanon border sector said Hizbullah is using UN peacekeeping forces as a "human shield," launching rockets at IDF forces from near UNIFIL positions. UNIFIL's mandate is set to expire at the end of 2026. (Ynet News) The IDF has destroyed 70% of Iran's missile launchers since the start of the war, significantly reducing the scale of missile barrages fired toward Israel, a security official said Sunday, adding that the campaign is progressing "beyond expectations." The official said Iran's leadership was surprised by the scale of the offensive despite preparing for war, and senior figures remain in hiding. Their absence has complicated decision-making and the transfer of orders to forces on the ground. Significant damage has been inflicted on facilities that support the country's military industry, particularly in major cities, and missile production has halted. (Ynet News) See also 6,000 Revolutionary Guards Killed in Iran War - Amir Bohbot Over 6,000 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been killed, and about 15,000 have been wounded since the start of the Iran war, according to IDF intelligence. A senior Israeli military official said, "The IDF expanded its target list to new areas, with an emphasis on the regime's foundations. It's not just the symbols of the regime and major command centers in Tehran. We already took care of that in the first two or three days. Now we are targeting command centers of the Basij in all of Iran's provinces." (Jerusalem Post) Two Iranian cluster missiles wounded six people in central Israel on Sunday as damage was reported in Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan and Petah Tikva. (Ha'aretz) Hizbullah commander Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali managed weapons operations within the Badr Unit, responsible for launching hundreds of rockets toward Israeli civilians. He was eliminated in an Israel Air Force strike last week. His brother, Ayman Muhammad Ghazali, carried out the Detroit synagogue shooting on Thursday. (X-IDF) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
Iran No one knows how the current Iran war will end, but whoever leads the regime will declare victory for Iran, regardless of how much damage the U.S. and Israel inflict. Iran has not experienced a military victory against a foreign enemy since the 18th century. As a result, its leaders are skilled at presenting defeats as draws, and draws (like the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s) as victories. This is a coping strategy that allows Iran to preserve some dignity as the inheritor of past empires, which once thrived on legendary military triumphs and territorial conquests. A self-soothing narrative hides from Iranians the simple truth that Iran isn't a global power. It's not even the leading power in the Middle East. It's too poor, corrupt, mismanaged, and divided to enjoy such a high status, no matter how much the regime tries to rally Iran's people into sacrifices. It's now being said that if the regime remains in power, it's somehow a triumph. "To survive would count as victory for Iran's regime," announces the Economist. But survival isn't victory unless it's accompanied by a strategic gain that outweighs military losses. Since 1979, the Islamic Republic has aimed for Iran's dominance of the Persian Gulf and the broader Middle East through ambitious weapons programs and support for proxies across the region. Survival is a poor substitute for losing all that, and most of it is already gone. The writer is a historian of the Middle East at Tel Aviv University and a fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. (Times of Israel) In Israel, polls show an astounding level of support for the war against Iran, with more than 80% of Israelis backing the war effort. That includes the entire political spectrum. A poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 93% of Israeli Jews - including 76% of self-identified leftists - support the war. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid told the Economist, "I have fairly earned the title of 'Netanyahu's fiercest political rival'....Yet on this military campaign, I stand behind the government and behind the operation in Iran. Why? Because this is not political - it is existential." Most Americans view Iran as a distant, theoretical threat. Yes, Iran is a major sponsor of terrorism, it has tried to develop nuclear weapons, has funded terrorist proxies, killed Americans around the world, helped Russia kill Ukrainians, and built alliances with repressive dictatorships across the globe. But that's all far away. For Israelis, there's nothing theoretical or remote about the danger. Israelis have listened to Iranian leaders for decades declare their intention to wipe Israel off the map and saw them install a clock in Tehran with a countdown to Israel's destruction. They have watched as Tehran built a paramilitary ring of fire around Israel with Iran-created and/or sponsored proxy militias, terrorist groups openly committed to Israel's destruction, launching thousands of rocket attacks, culminating in the Oct. 7, 2023, assault by Iran-funded Hamas. Against this backdrop, Iran has been enriching uranium to a level that serves no other purpose than for building nuclear weapons, while developing an arsenal of missiles in preparation to take on Israel. (Substack) The war unfolding between the U.S., Israel and Iran is not merely a Middle Eastern conflict, but part of a much wider contest over power, ideology and the future balance of the international system. Trump is nobody's fool. Tiny Israel, however formidable, cannot trick or blindside the U.S. into fighting wars against its own interests. When two reliable allies reached a moment when their interests, abilities and mutual understanding aligned almost perfectly, coordination becomes not only possible but logical. Both Israel and the U.S. see strategic opportunity and necessity in confronting Iran now. Each grants the other an opportunity they may not have again for decades. While Israel gains relief from a long-standing existential threat, the U.S. weakens a persistent adversary that has challenged its influence and threatened global trade routes for decades. Iranians themselves gain a unique opportunity to overthrow a brutal theocratic regime that has killed many thousands. Gulf states that quietly fear Iranian hegemony have found themselves aligning with Washington's campaign after Iran lashed out at them. Demonstrating overwhelming military capability against a regional adversary sends a signal about American resolve and capacity at a moment of delicate great-power diplomacy with China. Iran offers China a useful strategic partner positioned near some of the world's most important maritime choke points. For Washington, weakening Iran serves a broader objective: preventing hostile powers from gaining leverage over critical arteries of global trade. Trump also appears to see the conflict as a confrontation with a revolutionary regime whose worldview combines militant theology with a willingness to employ barbarity against its enemies and even its own people. It truly threatens the very core of our civilization. (Substack) Instead of changing Iran's regime, the U.S. should fatally weaken it. Tehran is counting on the cost of this war exceeding Trump's willingness to fight it. If Iran's regime survives, it will be even more determined to rebuild and wreak vengeance, at least in the short term. Toppling the regime demands breaking up the forces that suppress Iranians, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the notorious Basij militia. The Pentagon's air campaign aims to weaken these groups, but it's unclear whether this will be enough to undermine the forces that prop up the regime. If the goal instead is enfeebling the Islamic Republic so the Iranian public could overwhelm it, the way forward includes continuing to attack Iran's weapons stockpiles and production facilities to render the Islamic Republic incapable of threatening its neighbors for a long time to come. The U.S. and Israeli intelligence communities have the insight necessary for effective surgical strikes. Destroying much of Iran's ability to project power and attacking the security forces that suppress the Iranian public will surely hasten the regime's collapse. When the regime's foot soldiers suffer the same relentless strikes, water and electricity shortages, and plummeting currency as the rest of the country, they may be less inclined to spill blood and risk their own lives to prop up the Islamic Republic. The writer is a former chief U.S. Middle East peace negotiator. (Atlantic) Regime change from the air? On the outbreak of war, the Mossad asked Iranians to share their pictures and videos with Israeli spymasters as if they were using Facebook, as Israel innovates intelligence-gathering in the social media era. In a string of strikes on Wednesday, an Israeli Hermes drone destroyed checkpoints used by the Basij militia. In the aftermath, security positions began vanishing, moving, or breaking up into inefficient mobile patrols around Tehran, creating the space for activists to muster. Targeting information had been provided by Iranian activists on the ground. We may be looking at the first-ever popular uprising with air cover. Make no mistake, this is about regime change. There is no alternative. Nothing is more dangerous than an enemy you failed to kill. (Telegraph-UK) Over the past two weeks, Saudi Arabia has faced sustained waves of Iranian attacks aimed at military bases, energy infrastructure, and civilian areas. Saudi air defenses have intercepted hundreds of Iranian drones and dozens of missiles during repeated barrages. On March 12 alone, Saudi forces intercepted 33 Iranian drones, while other days saw 60 or more drones shot down in a single day. Multiple attack waves have targeted critical infrastructure and military facilities across the kingdom. These include 21 drones and five missiles launched toward the Shaybah oil field, five missiles aimed at Prince Sultan Air Base, and repeated drone incursions east of Riyadh. Saudi defenses have also intercepted barrages ranging from 18 drones to more than 50 drones within hours, as well as coordinated attacks involving 31 drones and three ballistic missiles. On March 3, two Iranian drones struck the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy compound in Riyadh. Taken together, these attacks amount to hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles launched toward Saudi Arabia, representing one of the most sustained aerial attacks the kingdom has faced in recent years. Iran has repeatedly demonstrated both the capability and the willingness to strike Saudi Arabia directly, recalling the 2019 attacks on Saudi oil facilities that temporarily disrupted a significant portion of the world's energy supply. The writer is chair of urban warfare studies at West Point's Modern War Institute. (Substack) Gaza As international attention is focused on the Iran war, Hamas has stepped up its crackdown on the Palestinian people as part of its effort to reassert control in Gaza. Hamas has murdered, arrested, assaulted, or summoned for interrogation dozens of Palestinians for allegedly speaking out against the terror group. Gaza-born political activist Hamza Howidy wrote last week: "Since the war with Iran began, Hamas's thugs have intensified their brutal, savage, barbaric campaign against Gaza's own residents. The people in this photo are just some of many who have been executed, shot, kidnapped, or brutally tortured in recent weeks. The list of atrocities grows by the day, and the sheer sadism on display goes beyond anything comprehensible.... The 'crime' those people committed? Saying their own opinions." "What makes this even worse than the suffering of those victims itself is the silence of the people who built entire careers screaming about Palestinian suffering. The same commentators, the same 'human rights advocates,' the same influencers, and the same media outlets that spent months positioning themselves as the moral conscience of the world, packaging Palestinian pain into clout, followers, and book deals, have gone completely dark....The Palestinians left to die under Hamas's boots are apparently the wrong kind of Palestinians." Another Gaza-born political activist, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, wrote on March 12: "Hamas terrorists conducted a parade in their trucks inside the al-Mawasi tent zone for the displaced. These gunmen are the same ones who are killing, kidnapping, torturing, and shooting Gazans every single day; they're making their presence known to say "shut up & pay us taxes"! They hide in tent areas and use civilians as shields to lessen the chance of being struck by Israeli drones and air strikes." (Gatestone Institute) Antisemitism When my children walk into our synagogue, the first person they see is a guard with a gun, standing outside. This is how Jewish life works in America today. When we sign our kids up for summer camp, preschool or even a holiday program at our synagogue, there is always a line item on the bill labeled "security." When my daughter celebrated her bat mitzvah, we had to pay an extra fee for an armed guard outside the building. Every now and then, something happens that reminds you exactly why that guard is there. On Thursday in West Bloomfield, Mich., a man drove a vehicle packed with explosives into Temple Israel, one of the largest reform synagogues in the U.S. Inside the building, 140 young children attended preschool. The attacker rammed the building and opened fire before he was ultimately stopped by armed security. A mass-casualty attack was miraculously avoided because of the bravery and fast thinking of the armed guard. What prevented catastrophe was preparation. Just weeks before the attack, the synagogue had hosted FBI training for staff and security personnel on how to respond to an active shooter. Jewish institutions operate under a level of threat that most non-Jewish Americans never have to think about. (New York Post) Observations: Iran's Defensive Strategy - Dr. Eado Hecht (BESA Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University)
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