English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News
& Editorials
For March 09/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the
lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2026/english.march09.26.htm
News Bulletin Achieves Since
2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006
Click On
The Below Link To Join Elias Bejjaninews whatsapp group
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FPF0N7lE5S484LNaSm0MjW
اضغط
على الرابط في
أعلى للإنضمام
لكروب
Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group
Elias Bejjani/Click on
the below link to subscribe to my youtube channel
الياس
بجاني/اضغط
على الرابط في
أسفل للإشتراك في
موقعي ع اليوتيوب
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOOSioLh1GE3C1hp63Camw
Bible Quotations For today
The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows
bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Second Letter to the Corinthians/09/1a.05-15./Now it is not
necessary for me to write to you about the ministry to the saints, So I thought
it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you, and arrange in advance
for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a
voluntary gift and not as an extortion. The point is this: the one who sows
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also
reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able
to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough
of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written,
‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures for
ever.’He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and
multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce
thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only
supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to
Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the
confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with
them and with all others, while they long for you and pray for you because of
the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. Thanks be to God for his
indescribable gift!”.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on March 08-09/2026
What Do Temptation & the Lost Son Parable Teach Us?/Elias Bejjani/From 2011
Archives
Elias Bejjani/Link to my interview on Al-Hawiya Youtube Channel
The War on Hezbollah-The Iranian Terrorist Proxy Continues/websiteslink news
Asharq Al-Awsat Details Israeli Commando Raid in Lebanon’s Nabi Sheet
Ground clashes near Aitaroun as Israel strikes hotel in Raouche killing four
Israel strikes Iranian Quds Force commanders in central Beirut
Israeli army: Five senior commanders from the IRGC’s Lebanon Corps killed in
precise Beirut strike
Lebanese Health ministry says death toll from Israeli strikes up to 394
Israel strikes Palestinian camp in Sidon
Iranians including diplomats evacuated from Beirut on Russian plane
Report: Aoun, Salam seek ceasefire talks in Cyprus, UN coordinator to visit
Israel
Lebanon’s Justice Minister: Armed men reportedly linked to Hezbollah harass
journalists near Al-Kafaat
Israeli Army Strikes Central Beirut, Oil Depots in Tehran
Israel strikes Palestinian camp in southern Lebanon
After claims that non-Lebanese nationals obtained Lebanese passports illegally
or through forgery, General Security clarifies
Lebanon’s Government Moves to Rein in Hezbollah, But Is It Enough?/.Claudia
Groeling & Kaline Antoun/This is Beirut/March 08/2026
Inside Hezbollah’s Post-Nasrallah Power Struggle/Samar El Kadi/This is
Beirut/March 08/2026
Lebanese Should Not Despair/David HaleThis is Beirut/March 08/2026
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on March 08-09/2026
The War
on Hezbollah-The Iranian Terrorist Proxy Continues/websites link news
Iran names Khamenei's son as new supreme leader
Trump says Iran’s next supreme leader will not last long without his approval
Trump rules out talks with Iran, warns country’s leadership could be ‘wiped out’
Iran warns it can fight for months as region repercussions spiral
Iran Guards say targeted Tel Aviv, airbase in Jordan
Iran sends first significant message of de-escalation, but with a major caveat
Iranian army says at least 104 killed in US attack on Iranian warship last week
Another US military service member dies in Iran operations, bringing total to 7
UK’s Starmer speaks with US President Trump on Middle East
Israeli military says it struck space force headquarters of Iran’s IRGC
UAE says it’s acting in self-defense against Iran’s ‘brutal and unjustified
aggression’
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on March 08-09/2026
Question: What role does Iran play in the end times?/GotQuestions.org/March
08/2026
Between might of American military power and suicide of Iranian ideology
doctrine/Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya English/08 March/2026
The Only Brave Leaders Standing Against Iran's Reign of Terror/Dr. Majid
Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 08/2026
Make or Break Time for Iran's Remaining Allies/Con Coughlin/Gatestone
Institute/March 08/2026
The end of Iran as a military power/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Asdharq Al Awsat/March
08/2026
The Gulf’s strategic options in a time of regional escalation/Dr. Khalid Al-Jaber/Arab
News/March 08, 2026
A motorcycle, a gun and another hero is silenced in Iraq/Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab
News/March 08, 2026
X Platform Selected twittes for March 08/2026
on March 08-09/2026
What Do Temptation & the Lost Son Parable Teach Us?
Elias Bejjani/From 2011 Archives
On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the Maronite Catholic Church reflects on the
Parable of the Lost Son, also known as the Prodigal Son. This powerful parable
illustrates the dangers of temptation, the consequences of sin, and the
boundless mercy of God.
The younger son, driven by selfishness and impulsive desires, fell into the trap
of temptation. He demanded his share of his father’s inheritance and abandoned
his home, seeking pleasure and indulgence in a distant land. However, his
reckless lifestyle led to ruin. He squandered everything and soon found himself
penniless, starving, humiliated, and utterly alone.
In the depths of his suffering, he experienced a moment of clarity—he recognized
his folly and longed for his father’s house. With humility and determination, he
resolved to return, confess his sins, and ask for forgiveness. To his
astonishment, his loving father welcomed him with open arms, rejoicing at his
repentance and restoring him to his rightful place as a son.
This parable serves as a guiding light for repentance and divine forgiveness. It
teaches us that no matter how far we stray, God’s mercy is always within reach.
Our Heavenly Father never abandons us; He patiently waits for our return, ready
to forgive and embrace us with infinite love. The Holy Bible urges us to turn to
God in times of doubt, weakness, hardship, and injustice:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will
be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds,
and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)
All we need to do is approach Him with faith, humility, and confidence—He will
answer our prayers.
“Whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:22)
Even when we disobey His teachings and stray from His path, God remains a loving
and compassionate Father. Despite our sins, defiance, and ingratitude, He never
gives up on our salvation. His love for us is so profound that He sacrificed His
only begotten Son, who endured suffering and crucifixion to redeem us. God
carries our burdens and strengthens us against the temptations of evil:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
God is waiting for our repentance. Let us return to Him with sincere hearts and
seek His forgiveness—before it is too late.
Reading in the Lost Son Parable
The Parable of the Lost Son illustrates sin as a departure from God and the
communion with Him, represented by the Church. It is a detachment from the Giver
in pursuit of His gifts. The younger son exemplifies this by squandering his
share of his father’s wealth in a distant land, forsaking both sonship and
familial bonds.
This parable highlights the devastating consequences of sin—losing the dignity
of sonship and descending into spiritual, moral, and social decay. The son’s
destitution symbolizes this degradation. Repentance begins with self-reflection,
acknowledging one’s wretched state before God, feeling remorse for straying, and
making a firm decision to return. It involves confessing sins, striving to avoid
their causes, and making amends through acts of goodness and mercy—just as the
lost son returned to his father.
At its heart, the parable conveys the boundless mercy of the Heavenly Father,
who eagerly awaits sinners’ return. The father’s joyous reception of his son
echoes the Gospel’s recurring theme: God rejoices over a repentant heart.
The symbols in the parable underscore the blessings of reconciliation:
The lavish robe represents the grace granted at baptism—tarnished by sin but
restored through repentance.
The ring signifies restored sonship, affirming divine faithfulness despite human
failings and sealing the bond of honesty.
The new shoes symbolize the path of righteousness opened to those who return in
repentance.
The feast with the fattened calf reflects the Eucharistic banquet, a symbol of
partaking in the divine sacrifice and communion with the Lord.
The elder son, who resents his brother’s reconciliation, represents those who
fail to grasp its transformative power. One who has not experienced God’s
forgiveness cannot extend it to others. Thus, the Church plays a vital role in
guiding individuals toward reconciliation with God, thereby fostering
reconciliation among people.
Elias Bejjani/Link to my
interview on Al-Hawiya Youtube Channel
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/152507/
A scientific, factual, and historical exposé on the reality of the rogue
Hezbollah gang—composed of mercenaries, criminals, and traitors—and the
necessity of deporting its members, leaders, and weaponry to Iran. A
'striptease' exposure of The Lebanese political parties 'corporations,'
politicians, and media figures, as well as many of the clerics and figures
hatched in the incubators of foreign occupations. The interview proposes
solutions to liberate Lebanon from Iranian occupation and the rotten political
and partisan class, without exceptions; for whoever collaborated with the
occupier and accepted being a tool for the slaughter of our people must depart
alongside them.
February 28/2026
The War on Hezbollah-The Iranian Terrorist Proxy Continues
LCCC website
The just war being waged by the United States and Israel against Iran and its
proxies—devils, terrorists, drug traffickers, and mafia networks—continues
relentlessly and will not stop before their complete defeat.
To follow the news, below are links to several news websites:
National News Agency (Lebanon)
https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/ar
Nidaa Al Watan
https://www.nidaalwatan.com/
MTV Lebanon
https://www.mtv.com.lb/
Voice of Lebanon
https://www.vdl.me/
Asas Media
https://asasmedia.com/
Naharnet
https://www.naharnet.com/
Al Markazia News Agency
https://almarkazia.com/ar
LBCI (English)
https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/en
LBCI (Arabic)
https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/ar
Janoubia Website
https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/ar
Kataeb Party Official Website
https://www.kataeb.org
Asharq Al-Awsat Details Israeli Commando Raid in Lebanon’s Nabi
Sheet
Baalbek: Hussein Darwish/Asharq Al Awsat/March 08/2026
The town of Nabi Sheet in Lebanon’s northern Bekaa is in shock after an Israeli
military operation that left dozens of residents and people from nearby villages
dead and wounded.
The operation involved an Israeli commando raid backed by more than 40 air
strikes carried out by fighter jets, attack helicopters and drones, causing
widespread destruction across the town and its surroundings.
Attempt to recover Arad’s remains
The Israeli force, made up of about 50 paratroopers, entered the town from three
directions, residents said: The Qouz axis toward Serghaya, the Khraibeh axis,
and the main western road linking the town entrance to Nabi Sheet square. Hamm
mayor Mohammad Hassan said the infiltration had been preceded by movement
through the Eastern Mountain Range from two axes — Abu Fares field and the
Shaara area — suggesting multiple routes of advance during the operation.
Residents told Asharq Al-Awsat the force appeared to be attempting to recover
the remains of Israeli pilot Ron Arad, missing since 1986 and believed to be
buried in the Shokr family cemetery near the mountain road linking Nabi Sheet to
the towns of Khraibeh, Janta and Shaara near Serghaya on the Lebanese-Syrian
border.
Helicopter landing
During the operation, Israeli troops deployed observation and security positions
inside the town, particularly in the Shokr neighborhood near the cemetery
entrance and close to the Shokr mosque and husseiniya. Other troops spread along
the town’s main street in anticipation of possible clashes. Information obtained
by Asharq Al-Awsat said the force landed by three helicopters in the Qouz area
before moving into the town through the surrounding highlands. Residents also
said ambulances and vehicles carrying Lebanese license plates were used, along
with personnel wearing the uniforms of Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Authority and
Lebanese Army military attire — raising questions about how the force reached
the town.
Operation exposed
The operation was uncovered when members of the force opened fire with silenced
rifles on a Hezbollah member passing through the area, killing him instantly.
The shooting alerted residents and Hezbollah members, who moved quickly to
surround the Israeli force and engage it. Before being exposed, the force had
dug a narrow pit at the cemetery measuring about one-meter-long, 50 centimeters
deep and 40 centimeters wide. Heavy gunfire across the town forced the force to
withdraw before reaching its objective. Hamda Assad al-Halbawi woke to the sound
of digging near the cemetery. When she stepped outside to see what was
happening, commando members fired at her from the direction of the graveyard,
hitting her in the head. When her son tried to rescue her, a drone struck their
car, killing them both.
Air strikes and ambushes
After the force was exposed, Israeli aircraft launched intense strikes on roads
leading to the town to prevent reinforcements from nearby villages. The strikes
targeted the Nabi Sheet–Nasiriyah road, the Nabi Sheet–Sarein secondary road,
the plain road, the Nabi Sheet–Khodr road and the Aqabeh–Baalbek road. The
mountain road and the main road were left open to facilitate the force’s
withdrawal. Missiles fired during the strikes created a massive crater estimated
to be about 10 meters deep and roughly 80 meters wide. The bombardment caused
extensive destruction, with cars hurled onto building rooftops, particularly in
Nabi Sheet square. As the force withdrew, it came under ambush along the
Khraibeh–Janta–Shaara road, where the fiercest clashes took place.
Heavy toll
The clashes and withdrawal left many dead, including about 35 people from Nabi
Sheet, nine from Khraibeh, one from Sarein and another from Ali al-Nahri. Three
Lebanese Army soldiers and one member of General Security were also killed.
Residents said Israeli forces used 16 mm rifles fitted with silencers.
Questions remain
Residents remain stunned by the scale of the operation and the destruction it
caused, while questioning how the force managed to infiltrate an area they say
is under constant surveillance. They say the Israeli force ultimately failed to
achieve its objective and withdrew under heavy fire and pressure from the
clashes. That account does not contradict Israel’s version of events. Israeli
army spokesman Avichay Adraee said no evidence linked Arad was found at the
search site.
Ground clashes near Aitaroun as Israel strikes hotel in Raouche
killing four
Agence France Presse/March 08/2026
The health ministry said Sunday that an Israeli strike on a hotel in central
Beirut killed at least four people, with Israel saying it had targeted
commanders from Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle
East war on Monday, when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Israel, which has kept up strikes targeting Hezbollah despite a 2024 ceasefire,
launched multiple waves of strikes this week across Lebanon and sent ground
troops into border areas. Early Sunday, the health ministry said an Israeli air
strike hit Beirut's city center, targeting "a hotel room", killing four people
and wounding 10 others. In southern Lebanon, the official National News Agency
said at least 12 people were killed in three separate strikes overnight. NNA
reported that a series of Israeli airstrikes had targeted more than 20 towns and
villages in southern Lebanon. "Six people were killed by an Israeli airstrike on
the town of Kherbet Selm," the health ministry reported. A second strike killed
at least two people in Kfar Rumman near the city of Nabatiyeh, it added.
The Israeli military earlier announced it had "begun an additional wave of
strikes in Beirut", saying it was targeting the capital's southern suburbs, a
Hezbollah stronghold. A statement issued later said Israeli forces carried out a
"precise strike" in Beirut, targeting "key commanders" in the Quds Force, the
Guards' foreign operations arm. The statement, which did not specify the exact
location, accused the unidentified commanders of planning "terror attacks
against the State of Israel and its civilians". Israel "will continue to
precisely eliminate the commanders of the Iranian terror regime wherever they
operate", it said. An AFP photographer at the bombarded seafront hotel saw one
room on the fourth floor with shattered glass and charred walls, while security
forces cordoned off the site. The hotel's area of Raouche is a major tourist
destination and had remained untouched by Israeli strikes during the war between
Israel and Hezbollah, which ended with a ceasefire in November 2024. Dozens of
panicked guests were fleeing the hotel with their luggage, the photographer
said. Two witnesses said they had heard a loud bang, before ambulances rushed to
the scene.
Rockets
The area along the Mediterranean coast is home to dozens of hotels, now
overcrowded with displaced people who fled their homes elsewhere in Lebanon due
to the ongoing fighting.
This is the second Israeli attack on a hotel in the Beirut area this week. On
Wednesday, an Israeli air strike hit a hotel in the predominantly Christian
neighborhood of Hazmieh outside Beirut, near the presidential palace and several
government ministries and diplomatic missions.AFPTV live footage from Beirut's
southern suburbs on Sunday showed smoke following what appeared to be at least
two air strikes several hours apart. Hezbollah meanwhile claimed rocket attacks
early Sunday targeting Israeli forces and a city across the border, "in response
to the criminal Israeli aggression that affected dozens of Lebanese cities and
towns", according to statements from the group. Hezbollah also said its fighters
were engaged in clashes with Israeli forces near the border town of Aitaroun.
Air raid sirens sounded in several areas of northern Israel, with no immediate
reports of any casualties or damage.
Israel strikes Iranian Quds Force commanders in central Beirut
The Arab Weekly/March 09/2026
Israel’s military has so far killed about 200 Hezbollah militants, spokesman
Nadav Shoshani said in an online briefing.
Israel’s military said it struck Iranian commanders in the Lebanese capital
early on Sunday, expanding the scope of strikes to the heart of Beirut after
days of strikes that have left nearly 400 people dead. The drone strike was the
first within the city limits of Lebanon’s capital since Israel-Hezbollah
hostilities resumed last week, and came amid heavy bombardment on Beirut’s
southern suburbs and the country’s south and east. Israel said it targeted key
commanders of Iran’s elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards but did not
name them.
“The commanders of the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps operated to advance terror
attacks against the state of Israel and its civilians, while operating
simultaneously for the IRGC in Iran,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
An Israeli military source said the strike targeted five senior Quds Force
members, including intelligence and finance personnel. Lebanon says four people
were killed in the strike, part of a rapidly rising death toll that has reached
394 people, the health ministry said on Sunday, including at least 83 children
and 42 women. Lebanon’s health ministry does not otherwise distinguish between
civilians and military personnel. Israel’s military has so far killed about 200
Hezbollah militants, spokesman Nadav Shoshani said in an online briefing.
Hezbollah has not published a toll for its fighters. Lebanon was pulled into the
widening US-Israel war with Iran on Monday after the Iran-backed militant group
Hezbollah fired into Israel. Israel responded with heavy strikes across southern
and eastern Lebanon and near Beirut. Some of the deadliest bombardment took
place in the last two days in eastern Lebanon, when 41 people were killed during
a rare Israeli airborne raid deep into Lebanese territory. The Raouche
neighbourhood on Beirut’s seafront is typically a tourist attraction, but in
recent days has hosted people displaced by strikes, some of whom stayed at the
Ramada hotel. The strike appeared to hit a corner suite on the hotel’s fourth
floor. A reporter observed the windows of the suite were shattered and
surrounding facade blackened. Ten people were also injured in the attack on
Beirut’s Raouche area, the Lebanese health ministry said. Khalil Abou Mohammad
was staying in a building across the street after being displaced earlier this
week. His three children, who were wounded by the force of the strike and were
being treated at a nearby hospital, would need surgery, he said as he showed
Reuters bloodstained bed covers. “We came to stay here, and as you can see, we
were sleeping at 3:30 (a.m.) and the strike hit,” Abou Mohammad said.Last week,
Israel said it had killed the commander of Iran’s Quds Force in Lebanon, Daoud
Ali Zadeh, in a strike in Tehran. It said a strike on Beirut’s suburbs had
killed Reza Khuza’i, whom it said was head of Hezbollah’s weapons build-up and
chief of staff of the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps. Israel has warned any
representatives of Iran in Lebanon to leave immediately or risk being targeted,
and struck an area near the Iranian embassy in Lebanon earlier this week. Dozens
of Iranian nationals have left in recent days, and the Lebanese government has
ordered authorities to arrest and deport any Iranian Revolutionary Guards in
Lebanon, though it was unclear if they had done so.Senior Hezbollah official
Mahmoud Qmati has denied that Iranian forces are on the ground in Lebanon.
Israeli army: Five senior commanders from the IRGC’s Lebanon
Corps killed in precise Beirut strike
LBCI/March 08/2026
The Israeli army announced that it had killed five senior commanders from the
Lebanon Corps of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a
precise strike in Beirut. sraeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X that
“overnight, the navy carried out a strike based on precise intelligence from the
Military Intelligence Directorate against five commanders from the Lebanon Corps
and the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps while they were meeting at a hotel in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.”He
added: “It can now be revealed that three central commanders of the Quds Force
were killed in the strike:
* Majid Hosseini – responsible for transferring funds to the Iranian regime’s
proxies in Lebanon to finance the activities of Hezbollah, the Lebanon Corps,
the Palestine Corps and Hamas, as well as other militant groups operating from
Lebanon. He was also responsible for financing and producing weapons to support
Hezbollah’s military activities.
* Ali Reza Bi Azar – served as head of the intelligence branch of the Lebanon
Corps within the Quds Force. He was considered a key source of expertise in
intelligence research and, during his tenure, worked to collect intelligence for
Hezbollah.
* Ahmad Rasouli – served as the intelligence chief of the Palestine Corps of the
Quds Force and was responsible for gathering intelligence for Palestinian groups
in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
* In addition, Hossein Ahmadlou, an intelligence operative tasked with
collecting information on Israel for militant purposes, and Abu Mohammed Ali,
Hezbollah’s representative in the Palestine Corps responsible for ongoing
coordination between the organization and the Palestine Corps, were also
killed.”
Lebanese Health ministry says death toll from Israeli
strikes up to 394
Agence France Presse/March
08/2026
Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed 394 people in the past week, including 83
children and 42 women, the country's health minister said Sunday. Rakan
Nassereddine also said at a press conference that nine rescue workers were among
the dead, condemning attacks on medical teams and ambulances. A previous toll
announced on Saturday by the minister had put the number of dead at 294 since
Lebanon was drawn into the regional war last Monday between Iran, Israel and the
United States.
Israel strikes Palestinian camp in Sidon
Agence France Presse/March 08/2026
Israel struck the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon
on Sunday, Lebanese state media reported, amid the new war between Israel and
Iran-backed Hezbollah.The state-run National News Agency said that "enemy
warplanes launched two raids on the Ain al-Hilweh camp in Sidon."
Iranians including diplomats evacuated from Beirut on
Russian plane
Agence France Presse/March
08/2026
More than 100 Iranians, including some diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut
overnight on a Russian plane, a Lebanese official told AFP on Sunday. "A total
of 117 Iranians, including diplomats and embassy staff, were evacuated on a
Russian plane that left Beirut overnight from Saturday to Sunday," the official
said on condition of anonymity. The evacuation comes after Lebanon's government
on Thursday banned any activity by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps -- a
main backer of Hezbollah.
Report: Aoun, Salam seek ceasefire talks in Cyprus, UN
coordinator to visit Israel
Naharnet/March 08/2026
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam are working on a
"political-military initiative," political sources said. "The military aspect is
related to the need for the Lebanese Army to enter all Lebanese territory," the
sources told Al-Jadeed TV.
"A discussion took place between Aoun and Salam on the need for the Lebanese
Army to abide by the government's decision, especially after the army chief's
latest statement which stirred controversry," the sources added. "A civilian
delegation will be formed to negotiate directly with Israel outside Lebanese
territory, likely in Cyprus," the sources said.bThe sources added that U.N.
Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine-Hennis Plasschaert will head to Israel
for talks and will return to Lebanon to meet with Aoun.
Lebanon’s Justice Minister: Armed men reportedly linked to
Hezbollah harass journalists near Al-Kafaat
LBCI/March 08/2026
Lebanon’s Minister of Justice, Adel Nassar, confirmed that armed individuals,
suspected to be affiliated with Hezbollah, intercepted journalists near the Al-Kafaat
area. Mister Nassar said he immediately contacted the Attorney General, Jamal
Hajjar, and the government commissioner at the Military Court, Claude Ghanem,
both of whom are following the case directly. The judiciary has coordinated wMth
the security authorities to monitor the incident and take all necessary legal
measures,” Nassar added.
Israeli Army
Strikes Central Beirut, Oil Depots in Tehran
This Is Beirut/March 08/2026
The IDF targeted Iranian commanders in the Ramada hotel in Beirut’s central
Rauoche neighborhood early on Sunday, killing four and injuring ten others. The
attack, described by the Israeli Army as a targeting “Quds Force's Lebanon
Corps,” represents the first Israeli strike to hit the heart of Beirut since
hostilities resumed last week. The hotel and broader neighborhood have become a
hotspot for displaced people fleeing recent evacuation orders, according to
Reuters. Raids also continued on the southern suburbs of Beirut, following
renewed evacuation orders. One strike, on the Hreit Harek neighborhood, appears
to have targeted Qud’s Force members as well, according to Nidaa al-Watan. In
the south, an Israeli evacuation order on four towns in Nabatieh was followed by
intense bombardment, including on a three story building which killed 19 people.
Airstrikes continued in Tebnine, in Shaaitiyeh near Tyre, and on a house in
Aaitit, with casualties reported in the latter two, according to Lebanon’s
National News Agency.
Tehran
Simultaneous attacks roiled Tehran overnight, with the Israeli military
confirming that it hit fuel storage facilities in the Iranian capital. Other
strikes targeted oil facilities in the neighboring city of Karaj. The facilities
are used to supply the capital and neighboring northern provinces, according to
Reuters. According to the Associated Press, this appears to be the first time a
civilian industrial facility has been targeted in the war, with the IDF
spokesperson stressing that Iran uses the fuel to operate military
infrastructure.President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed to continue retaliatory strikes
and to make the nation’s enemies “pay the price” for attacking it. The death
toll continues to rise with at least 1,230 people killed in Iran, 300 in
Lebanon, and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in the respective
countries.
Israel strikes Palestinian
camp in southern Lebanon
LBCI/March 08/2026
Israel struck the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon
on Sunday, Lebanese state media reported, amid the new war between Israel and
Iran-backed Hezbollah.
NNA said that "enemy warplanes launched two raids on the Ain al-Hilweh camp in
Sidon".
After claims that non-Lebanese nationals obtained Lebanese
passports illegally or through forgery, General Security clarifies
LBCI/March 08/2026
Reports circulating on some social media platforms claim that non-Lebanese
nationals have obtained Lebanese passports through illegal means or forged
documents, accompanied by accusations targeting the directorate and some of its
former officials.
The General Directorate of General Security said it would like to clarify the
following:
First: The General Directorate of General Security, as the sole official
authority responsible for issuing Lebanese travel documents, confirms that
passport issuance procedures are subject to strict international security and
technical standards. It stressed that breaching its system or falsifying its
data is extremely difficult. Second: The circulation of reports lacking legal
documentation and verified facts, and the reliance on unverified information,
aims to undermine the credibility of the Lebanese state and the reputation of
its official documents in international forums, which ultimately harms Lebanese
citizens first and foremost.
Third: The directorate called on citizens, activists and media outlets to
exercise accuracy and national responsibility, avoid being drawn into rumors,
and obtain information exclusively from official sources.
Lebanon’s Government Moves to Rein in Hezbollah, But Is It Enough?
Claudia Groeling & Kaline Antoun/This is Beirut/March 08/2026
After Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the regional conflict with its March 2 attack
on Israel, the Lebanese government signaled increased urgency to assert state
authority and seize the militia’s arsenal. The cabinet’s headline-making
decisions include banning Hezbollah’s military and security activities,
directing the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to seize the group’s weapons, and
ordering the expulsion of operatives from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC) in Lebanon. While these moves mark a more assertive posture by the
government, a key question remains: are they sufficient to restore state
sovereignty and prevent further escalation of Israel’s already widescale
military campaign against Hezbollah?
Lebanon Targets IRGC Operatives
On Thursday, the Lebanese government instructed security agencies to identify
and detain Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials operating in the
country for deportation, an unprecedented state directive aimed at curbing
Iran’s influence in Lebanon.
Charles Jabbour, the head of the media department for the Lebanese Forces party,
said the move signaled a formal rejection by the Lebanese government of Iran’s
military activities in Lebanon. “There is no doubt that this decision
represents, first and foremost, a clear political message that the IRGC is not
welcome in the country,” he said. Jabbour added that it was becoming
increasingly clear to Lebanese authorities that IRGC officials were present at
sites where Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, dragging Lebanon back into a
major conflict.
The government’s plan for stopping the activities of IRGC officers is primarily
based on border control procedures, according to Jabbour. The Lebanese state can
conduct advanced screening and background checks through its embassies and
security agencies, denying entry to Iranians suspected of affiliation with the
IRGC or involvement in illegal activities, he explained. “If successfully
implemented, the previous situation of complete openness has now been brought to
an end,” he emphasized.
Hezbollah’s Military Activities
Following Monday’s cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced a ban
on Hezbollah’s military activities, saying that the organization’s attack
earlier that day against Israel disregarded “the will of the majority of the
Lebanese” and “undermined the credibility of the state.” The US, which has been
leading international pressure on Beirut to expedite disarmament, expressed
skepticism over the decision. “The government's position came a little late, and
issuing statements is easy, but taking action is more difficult,” US Ambassador
to Lebanon Michel Issa said Monday. Political activist Jad al-Akhawi said that
while the decision was belated, it was still a step in the right direction.
“It's better late than never. The position they took yesterday is very
advanced,” he told This is Beirut. While Akhawi views this as a step in the
right direction, he stressed that it is far from enough. “Hezbollah is not
divided into a political and military branch; it is solely a security branch,”
he said. Akhawi dismissed fears that the government’s decision could lead to a
civil war, telling This is Beirut they were unfounded. “All the rumors that
Hezbollah is spreading, that the [Lebanese] army would be divided if any
decision like this were taken, are not true,” he said. Hezbollah’s struggles to
pay its fighters and financially support its base diminishes such risks, he
argued. Even if the group were to confront the LAF, Akhawi believes the public
would side against it. “If Hezbollah decides to fight the [Lebanese] army, all
the Lebanese would stand by the army,” he said.
Criminalizing Arms
The cabinet on Monday instructed the LAF to immediately begin its disarmament
plan for areas north of the Litani River. Two days later, authorities announced
that anyone found in possession of unlicensed firearms would be arrested and
referred to the country’s Military Tribunal. The LAF, for its part, has
established checkpoints in a bid to prevent non-state weapons from being moved
to the border zone. On Wednesday, the Lebanese army announced that it had
“detained 26 Lebanese and one Palestinian in several areas over the past two
days for illegally possessing weapons and ammunition.”Akhawi said that Lebanese
authorities had begun arresting Hezbollah members in the southern town of Saida,
adding that they have yet to be released. “This is something new,” he said,
calling for the arrests to continue. “Everybody who possesses or transports arms
should be arrested immediately,” he said. Jabbour echoed Akhawi’s sentiments,
saying authorities had also begun arresting Hezbollah members for possessing
weapons. “The arrests are an indication that the state has started moving in
this direction. Broader and more decisive steps may still be required, but the
mere beginning of such measures suggests that a new course is taking shape,” he
added.
De-Escalation Still Requires Hezbollah to Accept Defeat
“Hezbollah is going through an unprecedented period of weakness,” Jabbour said.
While the state’s measures are crucial, he emphasized that Israel will not halt
its military campaign until Lebanon prevents its territory from being used to
launch rockets. On Tuesday, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said
Israel would not end its operations in Lebanon until Hezbollah’s threats are
halted and the organization is disarmed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu on Saturday called on the Lebanese government to assume its
responsibility for confiscating Hezbollah’s weapons. If the Lebanese state does
not do so, Israel’s leader warned, then “Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel will
bring disaster to Lebanon.”Akhawi said de-escalation would only be possible once
Hezbollah lays down its arms and accepts defeat. The militia must acknowledge
that it has already lost its war against Israel, he added. “We have to accept
that there is no equality in power between Lebanon and Israel,” Akhawi said. He
contended that meaningful diplomatic and political talks can only begin once
this reality is acknowledged. The government should use its recent actions as a
starting point for broader and more ambitious goals, Akhawi said. “We have to
start thinking about what is needed for the peace process with Israel. Until
now, it has been a taboo, and nobody dares to talk about it.” “We should begin
discussing [peace], exploring it, and understanding what we can gain from it,”
the activist said.
Inside Hezbollah’s Post-Nasrallah Power Struggle
Samar El Kadi/This is Beirut/March 08/2026
Hezbollah’s renewed conflict with Israel has exposed internal tensions within
the group that have been simmering since Tel Aviv’s assassination of its
longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and other senior figures. The loss of these
leaders has left the group grappling with what analysts describe as a
“decapitation” of its leadership structure, complicating its ability to maintain
the same level of centralized command and control, according to an informed
source. In particular, Israel’s September 27, 2024 assassination of Hassan
Nasrallah—who dominated both Hezbollah’s military and political
decision-making—created a leadership vacuum that has proven difficult to fill.
Nasrallah’s authority and charisma ensured discipline within the movement and
unified its various factions. “The group was severely weakened by the
elimination of its top and second-tier leadership,” the source said, noting that
internal power struggles were widely expected after the “deadly blow” it had
suffered.
Unlike his predecessor, Hezbollah’s new secretary-general, Naim Qassem, does not
wield the same personal authority within the party’s ranks. With Hassan
Nasrallah gone, disagreements among the party’s disparate factions have
surfaced. At the center of the current tensions is an apparent struggle over the
distribution of authority within the group. Reports from early 2026 suggest
Hezbollah’s new leadership under Naim Qassem is seeking to rebalance power
within the party and curb the influence of figures who rose through the ranks
during Nasrallah’s tenure.
Iran Steps In
Amid these growing rifts, Hezbollah’s backer Iran moved quickly to fortify its
influence within the group. Tehran has effectively taken direct control of
Hezbollah’s military and security apparatuses while attempting to limit the
influence of the political wing, according to the source. Analysts argue that
Hezbollah’s decision to enter the regional conflict by opening a front against
Israel in support of Tehran reflects the group’s increasingly limited strategic
options. The move aligned with a broader strategy by Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to demonstrate that Tehran retains the ability
to activate its regional proxies and widen the scope of the conflict. “The unit
responsible for launching rockets toward Israel,” the source said, “is
structurally integrated with the Quds Force, the external operations arm of the
IRGC, and operates under direct orders from Tehran.”
This shift underscores the depth of Iran’s involvement in Hezbollah’s military
apparatus at a time when the group is facing unprecedented pressure on multiple
fronts.
“Nasrallah Was the Party”
Political analyst Ali al‑Amin, founder of the Al-Janoubia news outlet, said that
confusion and disagreements within Hezbollah were inevitable after Nasrallah’s
death. “No one could fill his shoes,” he said. “His decisions were
unquestionable, and the entire party aligned behind him. Hezbollah was, in many
ways, Nasrallah’s party.” Security challenges have further complicated
Hezbollah’s already precarious position. Israel’s ongoing campaign of targeted
assassinations has highlighted vulnerabilities within the group’s internal
security, fueling paranoia over who is responsible for potential intelligence
breaches. Nonetheless, Amin says Iran has kept these rifts within Hezbollah
tightly under control. “As long as Iran maintains its support and holds the real
decision-making power, a genuine schism inside Hezbollah is highly unlikely,” he
said. During wartime in particular, the military establishment—closely tied to
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards — retains the decisive upper hand. Hezbollah’s new
campaign against Israel should be understood primarily as an Iranian strategic
operation, according to Amin. “Neither Lebanon nor Hezbollah benefits from such
an operation,” he said. “It serves Iran’s interests above all.”
Hezbollah functions less as an ally of Tehran than as an extension of the
Iranian system, according to Amin. Hezbollah’s doctrine is anchored in Iran’s
ideology of Velayat‑e Faqih, which demands absolute loyalty to the country’s
supreme leader, binding the party to Tehran’s strategic priorities. In practice,
Amin said, Hezbollah’s political leadership has little room to challenge
decisions coming from Iran, particularly on critical matters such as a war. “The
party is accustomed to implementing orders,” he explained. “Protecting the
interests and stability of the Islamic Republic is written into its internal
rules. That is essentially its mission.”
Discontent Beneath the Surface
While some frustrations are rising among segments of Hezbollah’s popular base,
analysts say open dissent remains rare. “Even if supporters are tired or
frustrated, they rarely express it publicly,” Amin noted, pointing to the strong
ideological discipline within the movement and “intimidation exerted by
Hezbollah on the Shia community.” For now, Hezbollah appears determined to
regroup under Iranian supervision despite the heavy losses it has suffered. But
the combination of leadership decapitation, growing military pressure, and
shifting regional dynamics continues to test Hezbollah’s cohesion.
Lebanese Should Not Despair
David HaleThis is Beirut/March 08/2026
Once again, Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, have dragged Lebanon into a war. Once
again, Hezbollah has shown that its loyalty is to its paymaster in Tehran, not
to the Lebanese people or state, whose well-being and security are matters of
indifference to them. Once again, Hezbollah's practice of using human shields to
protect its facilities and operations has produced dislocations and a
humanitarian crisis. It is a sadly familiar pattern dating to the early 1990s,
as many of us know all too well.
But there are differences today. These differences are a cause for hope. And
they are reason for persistence and determination in making the effort to end
once and for all this pattern that makes Lebanon a landscape for regional
conflict. With such effort, American support will come.
It starts with popular will. The big lie that Hezbollah was the protector and
defender of Lebanon has yet again been exposed as the opposite of the truth.
Lebanon would have been left out of this phase of the regional conflict but for
a twitch of a finger from Hezbollah's masters to join in a losing campaign to
defend Iran. It is Hezbollah's fealty to Iran that drives it to make decisions
that mean life or death for Lebanese, without any democratic accountability to
the Lebanese people. My sense is that Lebanese, even from Hezbollah's own Shi'a
community, can now see this reality clearly and are repulsed by it.
Hence the second difference. Slowly but surely, Lebanon's current leaders are
restoring the sovereignty of the state. Lebanese can and will debate the pace
and specifics of it, but stepping back, the progress has been real. Those
responsible are acting on the basis of a sincere commitment to the sovereignty
of the state--so long dismissed or discarded by Lebanese and foreigners
alike--in ways that entail political and personal courage. Measures banning
Hezbollah military operations, expelling IRGC personnel, and requiring visas for
Iranian visitors were inconceivable just a short time ago. Hezbollah's own
blunders and IDF action created these opportunities, but that is only further
reason to stay on course toward sovereignty. With the full political cover it
now enjoys, it is time for the Lebanese army to consider accelerating its plans
to disarm Hezbollah and restore the state's monopoly of arms, within the
manpower constraints it faces.
The third difference is that America is doing the most important thing it alone
can do for the future of Lebanese sovereignty: ending almost 50 years of Iranian
intimidation, terrorism and violence throughout the Middle East. Iran's strategy
was always about preserving the power and existence of the Islamic revolutionary
regime's leaders, and never about promoting justice and freedom in the Arab
world. These leaders were usually adept at exploiting real local conflicts, but
the aim was to enflame those conflicts, not resolve them, as an ideal means to
ensure Iran had the upper hand and to unify Iranians against imaginary external
threats. A change in the behavior and capabilities of the regime is a more
realistic goal than regime change itself. However the Trump Administration's
campaign ends, Iran's ability to use its missiles, navy, nuclear plans, and
proxy alliances will not be the same. By denying Iran the ability to interfere
in and use Lebanon for its own violent purposes, this campaign has the potential
to give Lebanese the chance of a lifetime to regain their country. As Lebanon's
leaders show more unity, confidence and determination in actions to fulfill that
opportunity, support from American and other leaders who share the goal of
restoring Lebanese state sovereignty will only grow.
This phase of the regional conflict will end. When it does, the region will be
different: Iran will be a severely reduced power. It will no longer be capable
of destabilizing the region. The Lebanese state will be on the road to restoring
sovereign control.
It is hard to imagine that future at moments of national darkness. But it is
precisely at such moments that thinking and planning on how to shape that future
are so important. True sovereignty entails real responsibility--in this case, to
protect the Lebanese people and ensure the security of Lebanon on an enduring
basis. Ceasefire and truces are valuable but not enduring, as Lebanon has
experienced since 1949. Only good faith, state-to-state peace treaties can put a
past of enmity and violence truly behind two neighbors. What is done today,
step-by-step, will assure Lebanon's security, prosperity, and rightful place in
the world--and end its use as a landscape for the conflicts of others.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports
And News published
on March 02-03/2026
News of
the ongoing war between Iran on one side and the US and Israel on the other. The
news is abundant, fragmented, and difficult to keep track of as it evolves
constantly. For those wishing to follow the course of the war, the following are
links to several television channels and newspapers:
Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper
https://aawsat.com/
National News Agency
https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/ar
Al Arabiya/Arabic
https://www.alarabiya.net/
Sky News
https://www.youtube.com/@SkyNewsArabia
Nidaa Al Watan
https://www.nidaalwatan.com/
Al Markazia
https://www.nidaalwatan.com/
Al Hadath
https://www.youtube.com/@AlHadath
Independent Arabia
https://www.independentarabia.com/
Iran names Khamenei's son as new
supreme leader
Agence France Presse/March 08/2026
Iran's ruling clerics on Sunday appointed the slain leader's son, Ayatollah
Mojtaba Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader, defying threats from the
United States and Israel to oppose him. Nine days after U.S.-Israeli strikes
killed the elder Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and plunged the Middle East into war,
the clerical government's Assembly of Experts convened to choose their next
leader. Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, "is appointed and introduced as the third leader
of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the decisive vote
of the respected representatives of the Assembly of Experts", the clerical body
said in a statement. It said that the clerical body "did not hesitate for a
minute" in choosing a new leader, despite "the brutal aggression of the criminal
America and the evil Zionist regime". U.S. President Donald Trump has previously
dismissed the younger Khamenei as a "lightweight", and insisted again on Sunday
that he should have a say in the new leader's appointment. "If he doesn't get
approval from us he's not going to last long," he told ABC News before the
announcement was made. But Tehran's top diplomat said Sunday that the decision
was Iran's alone, adding it would "allow nobody to interfere in our domestic
affairs". Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press", Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
went on to demand Trump "apologise to people of the region" for starting the
war.
The younger Khamenei is regarded as a conservative figure, notably because of
his ties with the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Islamic
republic's military. Israel's military had previously warned any successor that
"we will not hesitate to target you".
Air 'unbreathable' -
Overnight, Israel struck five oil facilities in and around Tehran, killing at
least four people and sparking blazes that left the skies filled with acrid
smoke. Tehran's governor told the IRNA news agency that fuel distribution had
been "temporarily interrupted" in the capital.
A dark haze hung over the city of 10 million people, blocking out the sun, and
the smell of burning fuel lingered in the air. Authorities warned the fumes
could be toxic and urged citizens to stay indoors, but many windows were blown
out by the force of the blasts.
"The blaze has been burning for more than 12 hours, the air has become
unbreathable. I can't even go out to do the daily shopping," said one
35-year-old from Tehran.
"At first, I supported this war. After Khamenei's death, I celebrated with my
friends: we drank wine and we danced. "But since yesterday... people say there's
not even any gasoline left at the gas stations," she said, in a text message to
contacts in Europe.
As the war extended into its ninth day, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they
had enough supplies to continue their drone and missile war over the Middle East
for up to six months.
Several blasts were heard over Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv after the
Israeli military said it had detected a salvo of missiles from Iran. The Magen
David Adom emergency services said six people were wounded in central Israel.
Advanced missiles -
Trump again refused to rule out sending American ground troops into Iran, but
continued to insist that the war was all but won despite the ongoing Iranian
missile and drone strikes.
Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said Iran had so far used only first- and
second-generation missiles, but would use "advanced and less-used long-range
missiles" in the coming days. Saudi Arabia said Sunday that two people were
killed and 12 wounded by a "military projectile" in Al Kharj province, having
earlier said it intercepted a wave of drones headed for targets including the
diplomatic quarter of its capital Riyadh. Kuwait, meanwhile, said an attack hit
fuel tanks at its international airport and Bahrain reported a water
desalination plant had been damaged. Iran's health ministry said Sunday that at
least 1,200 civilians had been killed and around 10,000 wounded -- figures AFP
could not independently verify. Lebanon's health minister said at least 394
people had been killed in Israeli air strikes since Lebanon was dragged into the
war a week ago, including 83 children and 42 women. Two Israeli soldiers have
been killed during the fighting in southern Lebanon, the military said. Trump,
meanwhile, attended the return of the bodies of six American service members
killed in a drone strike on a U.S. base in Kuwait last Sunday.
No clear way out -
Analysts warn there is still no clear path to ending a conflict that U.S. and
Israeli officials say could last a month or longer. Trump has suggested Iran's
economy could be rebuilt if a leader "acceptable" to Washington replaces the
late supreme leader.On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV prayed "that the roar of the bombs
may cease, the weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open."
Who is Mojtaba Khamenei,
Iran’s new supreme leader?
Al Arabiya English/09 March/2026
Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba was chosen by Iran’s Assembly of Experts to succeed
his late father as supreme leader, in a sign that hardliners were still firmly
in charge.
The clerical body named the 56-year-old mid-ranking cleric, who has survived the
US-Israeli air war on Iran, as successor more than a week after Ali Khamenei was
killed in an airstrike. A member of the assembly, Mohsen Heidari Alekasir, said
in a video on Sunday that a candidate had been selected based on Khamenei’s
guidance that Iran’s top leader should be “hated by the enemy.”“Even the Great
Satan (US) has mentioned his name,” Heidari Alekasir said of the chosen
successor, days after US President Donald Trump said Mojtaba was an
“unacceptable” choice for him. Mojtaba amassed power under his father as a
senior figure close to the security forces and the vast business empire they
control. He has opposed reformers seeking to engage with the West as it tries to
curb Iran’s nuclear program. His close ties with Iran’s influential
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) give him added leverage across Iran’s political
and security apparatus and he has built up influence behind the scenes as his
father’s “gatekeeper,” sources familiar with the matter said.
The supreme leader has the final say on matters of state, including foreign
policy and Iran’s nuclear program. Western powers want to prevent Tehran
developing nuclear arms. Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes
only. Mojtaba could face opposition from Iranians who have shown they are ready
to stage mass protests to press their demands for greater freedoms despite
bloody crackdowns by the authorities. He was born in 1969 in the holy Shia city
of Mashhad and grew up as his father was helping lead the opposition to the
Shah. As a young man, he served in the Iran-Iraq war. Mojtaba studied under
religious conservatives in the seminaries of Qom, Iran’s center of Shia
theological learning, and has the clerical rank of Hojjatoleslam. He has never
held a formal position in the Islamic Republic’s government. He has appeared at
loyalist rallies, but has rarely spoken in public.
His role has long been a source of controversy in Iran, with critics rejecting
any hint of dynastic politics in a country that overthrew a US-backed monarch in
1979.
The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Mojtaba in 2019, saying he
represented the supreme leader in “an official capacity despite never being
elected or appointed to a government position” aside from working in his
father’s office.
Its website said Khamenei had previously delegated some of his responsibilities
to Mojtaba, who it said had worked closely with the commander of the IRGC’s Quds
Force and the Basij, a religious militia affiliated with the IRGC, “to advance
his father’s destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic
objectives.”Mojtaba was a particular target for criticism by protesters during
unrest over the death of a young woman in police custody in 2022, after she was
arrested for allegedly breaching the Islamic Republic’s strict dress codes. In
2024, a video was widely shared in which he announced the suspension of Islamic
jurisprudence classes he was teaching at Qom, fueling speculation about the
reasons. Mojtaba bears a strong resemblance to his father, and wears the black
turban of a sayyid, indicating his family traces its lineage to the Prophet
Mohammed. Critics have said Mojtaba lacks the clerical credentials to be supreme
leader – Hojjatoleslam is a notch below the rank of Ayatollah, the position held
by his father and Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic. But he
has remained in the frame, particularly after another leading candidate for the
role – the former president Ebrahim Raisi – died in a helicopter crash in 2024.
A US diplomatic cable written in 2007 and published by WikiLeaks cited three
Iranian sources describing Mojtaba as an avenue to reach Khamenei. Mojtaba was
widely believed to have been behind the sudden rise of hardliner Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, who was elected president in 2005.
Mojtaba backed Ahmadinejad in 2009 when he won a second term in a disputed
election which resulted in anti-government protests that were violently
suppressed by the Basij and other security forces. Mehdi Karroubi, a moderate
cleric who ran in the election, wrote a letter to Khamenei at the time objecting
to what he alleged was Mojtaba’s role in supporting Ahmadinejad. Khamenei
rejected the accusation. Mojtaba’s wife, who was killed in last Saturday’s
airstrikes, was the daughter of a prominent hardliner, the former parliament
speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel. With Reuters
Trump says Iran’s next supreme leader will not last long without his approval
Al Arabiya English/08 March/2026
US President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that Iran’s next supreme leader would
not last long without his approval, as Tehran prepared to reveal the successor
to the slain Ali Khamenei. Nine days after US-Israeli strikes on his compound
killed Khamenei and plunged the Middle East into war, Iran’s Assembly of Experts
met privately and chose their next leader, members of the body said. The clerics
did not say who had been selected, only that a name would be announced soon.
Some suggested Khamenei’s 56-year old son Mojtaba Khamenei would succeed his
father. Trump had previously demanded a say in the appointment and dismissed the
younger Khamenei as an unacceptable “lightweight.”“He’s going to have to get
approval from us,” Trump told ABC News on Sunday, referring to Iran’s next
leader. “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long.”
But Tehran’s top diplomat said earlier in the day that the decision was Iran’s
alone, adding it would “allow nobody to interfere in our domestic
affairs.”Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
went on to demand that Trump “apologize to people of the region” for the
spiraling war.
Panel picking Iran’s supreme leader has reached consensus, member says
Middle East
Panel picking Iran’s supreme leader has reached consensus, member says
The younger Khamenei is regarded as a conservative figure, notably because of
his ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of
the Iranian military. Israel’s military has warned any successor that “we will
not hesitate to target you.”Israel’s reach was underlined by two new operations
overnight – strikes against fuel dumps in and around Tehran, and an attack on a
hotel in the heart of Lebanon’s capital Beirut that targeted suspected Iranian
commanders. Warplanes hit five oil facilities around the Iranian capital,
killing at least four people, according to a state oil executive, and blanketing
the city in acrid smoke. Tehran’s governor told the IRNA news agency that fuel
distribution had been “temporarily interrupted” in the capital. A dark haze hung
over the city of 10 million people, blocking out the sun, while the smell of
burning fuel lingered in the air.
Authorities warned the fumes could be toxic and urged citizens to stay indoors,
but many windows were blown out by the force of the blasts. As the war extended
into its ninth day, Iran’s IRGC said it had enough supplies to continue its
drone and missile war over the Middle East for up to six months. Several blasts
were heard over Israel’s commercial hub of Tel Aviv after the Israeli military
said it had detected a salvo of missiles from Iran. The Magen David Adom
emergency services said six people were wounded in central Israel. Trump again
refused to rule out sending US ground troops into Iran, but continued to insist
that the war was all but won despite the ongoing Iranian missile and drone
strikes. The US President spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on
Sunday, Downing Street said, after Trump had lobbed insults at the premier and
accused him of trying to join a war “we’ve already won.”The pair discussed
military cooperation, London said, with Britain having granted the US use of its
military bases for “collective self-defense of partners in the region,” having
refused to allow their use for the initial strikes on Iran. IRGC spokesman Ali
Mohammad Naini said Iran had so far used only first- and second-generation
missiles, but would use “advanced and less-used long-range missiles” in the
coming days.Saudi Arabia said two people were killed and 12 wounded by a
“projectile” on Sunday in al-Kharj province, having earlier said it intercepted
a wave of drones headed for targets including the diplomatic quarter of its
capital Riyadh. Kuwait, meanwhile, said an attack hit fuel tanks at its
international airport and Bahrain reported a water desalination plant had been
damaged. Iran’s health ministry said Sunday that at least 1,200 civilians had
been killed and around 10,000 wounded. Lebanon’s health minister said at least
394 people had been killed in Israeli airstrikes since Lebanon was dragged into
the war a week ago, including 83 children and 42 women. Two Israeli soldiers
were killed during the fighting in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said.
Trump on Saturday attended the return of the bodies of six American service
members who were killed in a drone strike on a US base in Kuwait last Sunday.
Analysts warn there is still no clear path to ending a conflict that US and
Israeli officials say could last a month or longer. Trump has suggested Iran’s
economy could be rebuilt if a leader “acceptable” to Washington replaces the
late supreme leader.
China and Russia have largely stayed on the sidelines despite close ties with
Tehran. China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said the war in the Middle East should
“never have happened,” telling a press conference in Beijing: “The world cannot
return to the law of the jungle.”On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV prayed “that the roar
of the bombs may cease, the weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue
may open.”With AFP
Trump rules out talks with Iran, warns country’s leadership
could be ‘wiped out’
The Arab Weekly/March 09/2026
Trump said the air campaign could make negotiations a moot point if all
potential leaders of Iran are killed and the Iranian military is destroyed. US
President Donald Trump said on Saturday he is not interested in negotiating with
Iran and raised the possibility that the Iran war would only end once that
country no longer has a functioning military or any remaining leadership in
power. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the air campaign
could make negotiations a moot point if all potential leaders of Iran are killed
and the Iranian military is destroyed. “At some point, I don’t think there will
be anybody left maybe to say ‘We surrender,’” Trump said. Israel and Iran traded
numerous attacks on Saturday as the Middle East war entered a second week.
Iran’s president apologised to neighbouring states to cool anger across the Gulf
but stirred criticism from hardliners at home. “I personally apologise to
neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” Iranian President
Masoud Pezeshkian said, urging them not to join US-Israeli attacks on Iran. He
dismissed Trump’s demand for the Islamic Republic’s unconditional surrender as
“a dream”, but said its temporary leadership council had agreed to suspend
attacks on nearby states unless strikes on Iran originated from their territory.
Trump nonetheless cast Iran’s apology as a surrender and warned the US could
widen its attacks. Amid possible divisions within Iran’s leadership over
Pezeshkian’s remarks, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in a televised
address, said any Iranian Revolutionary Guards who lay down their arms would be
unharmed. Ali Ardashir Larijani, Iran’s secretary of the Supreme National
Security Council, said on state television there was no rift among Iranian
officials over its handling of the war.
Saudi Arabia has told Tehran that while it favours a diplomatic settlement,
continued Iranian attacks on the kingdom and its energy sector could push Riyadh
to respond in kind, four sources familiar with the matter said.
US bases targeted
Pezeshkian’s comments caused a political stir in Iran, prompting his office to
reiterate Iran’s military would respond firmly to attacks from US bases in the
region. Hours later, the president repeated his statement on social media but
left out the apology from his speech that had angered hardliners, including the
powerful Revolutionary Guards. Hamid Rasai, a hardline cleric and lawmaker,
wrote on X: “Mr Pezeshkian, your stance was unprofessional, weak and
unacceptable.”The judiciary chief, Mohseni-Ejei, a hardline member of the
three-man council temporarily holding the powers of supreme leader, said the
territory of some regional countries was being used for attacks against Iran,
and retaliatory strikes would continue.Hours after Pezeshkian’s announcement,
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their drones struck a US air combat centre at
Al Dhafra Air Base near Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. Reuters
could not independently verify that report. Late into the night, Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted an Israeli refinery, according to
state media. Air raid sirens sounded in the Haifa area, but there were no
reports of destruction. The Kuwaiti army said on Saturday that fuel storage
tanks belonging to Kuwait International Airport were targeted in a drone attack.
There were reports of rockets targeting the US embassy in Baghdad, security
sources and witnesses said. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered
his security forces to pursue those responsible, according to a statement.
In Iran, local news agencies, citing an Iranian Oil Ministry source, said its
fuel depots were hit by strikes in three areas, including Karaj, west of Tehran.
The Revolutionary Guards also targeted US forces at a base in Bahrain, Iranian
state media said. Blasts were also heard in Doha, a Reuters witness said.
Tehran has responded to the US-Israeli war on Iran by hitting Israel and Gulf
Arab states hosting US military installations. Israel has launched fresh attacks
in Lebanon after the Iran-aligned militia Hezbollah fired across the border. The
UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have all reported drone
or missile attacks over the past week.
Israel warns Lebanon
With the conflict spreading, Israel warned Lebanon of a “very heavy price” if it
did not rein in Hezbollah, as it pounded the group’s strongholds with airstrikes
and mounted a deadly airborne raid in the east. On Saturday morning, more
buildings in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut had been
reduced to mounds of smoking rubble, dust and tangled wires, Reuters video
showed. The death toll from Israel’s attacks on Lebanon since Monday rose to
294, the Lebanese health ministry said. The US-Israeli attacks have killed at
least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN
ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani. Huge explosions were heard in parts of Tehran,
state media reported, while Israel said it had struck Iranian missile sites and
command centres. Iranian attacks have killed 10 people in Israel. Larijani said
there were reports that American soldiers have been captured, but US Central
Command said no US service members have been taken prisoner. At least six US
service members have been killed. Their remains arrived on Saturday at an Air
Force base in Delaware. Iran’s apparent strategy of maximum chaos has driven up
the costs of the conflict by raising energy prices and hurting global business
and logistics links. Kuwait’s national oil company began cutting output on
Saturday, adding to earlier oil and gas cuts from Iraq and Qatar.
The war has roiled global markets and oil prices have hit multi-year highs with
the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut.
Iran warns it can fight for months as region repercussions spiral
Agence France Presse/March 08/2026
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Sunday that the country's forces could fight an
intense war for six months against the United States and Israel, which said it
struck Tehran's commanders at a seaside hotel in the heart of Beirut. As the
conflict spilled into its second week, the regional repercussions spiraled, with
Saudi Arabia intercepting a wave of drones headed for targets including the
diplomatic quarter in capital Riyadh and Kuwait saying an attack hit fuel tanks
at its international airport. The strike on Kuwait's aviation fuel storage
compounded fears over energy supplies with the country's national oil company
also announcing a cut in crude production over threats to the Strait of Hormuz,
where a fifth of the world's oil and gas transit. Tehran accused the U.S. and
Israel of striking an oil depot in the Iranian capital on Saturday, the first
reported assault on the Islamic republic's oil infrastructure as stock markets
have slumped and crude prices surged. The Israeli military said it struck "a
number of fuel storage facilities in Tehran" that were used "to operate military
infrastructure". Israel's military also launched a new wave of strikes "across
Tehran" on Sunday, after carrying out a precision strike targeting "key
commanders" in the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran's
Revolutionary Guards, at a hotel in an area of central Beirut popular with
tourists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press on with
the war against Iran "with all our force", with a plan to eradicate the
country's leadership after joint U.S.-Israeli raids killed supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week, sparking the regional conflict. Despite the
threat, the Revolutionary Guards said Sunday that the Islamic republic's forces
could wage an "intense war" for six months at the current speed of fighting.
Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said Iran had so far used "first and second
generation" missiles, but will use "advanced and less-used long-range missiles"
in the coming days.
'Trapped'
The widening reach of the war and Iran's ability to inflict damage and harm were
underscored by U.S. President Donald Trump attending the return of six American
service members killed in a drone strike on a U.S. base in Kuwait last Sunday.
Iran's security chief Ali Larijani accused the Trump administration of seeking
to replicate a scenario similar to Venezuela where it ousted leader Nicolas
Maduro. "Their perception was that it would be like Venezuela -- they would
strike, take control and it would be over -- but now they are trapped," he said
in a pre-recorded interview broadcast on state TV on Saturday.
Iran's hardline judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei also warned Middle
East neighbors which are "openly and covertly at the disposal of the enemy" that
"the heavy attacks on these targets will continue". Iranian President Masoud
Pezeshkian said Sunday that Tehran "will be forced to respond" if a neighboring
country were to be used as a launchpad for any attack or invasion attempt.
Tehran had vowed to go after US assets in the region, and Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait on Sunday all reported new attacks. Saudi
Arabia said it intercepted more than a dozen drones while Qatar said Iran fired
two cruise missiles and 10 ballistic missiles at the country on Saturday.
UAE forces were intercepting incoming missile and drones from Iran, the defense
ministry said in a post on X. On Saturday, video footage showed one projectile
crashing at Dubai airport, while AFP journalists heard blasts in Iraq's Baghdad
and Erbil on Saturday evening.
Inside Iran, damage to infrastructure and residential areas is mounting as its
people report growing anxiety and a heavy security presence. "I don't think
anyone who hasn't experienced war would understand it," a 26-year-old teacher
told AFP on condition of anonymity. Iran's health ministry said Friday at least
926 civilians had been killed and around 6,000 wounded -- figures AFP could not
independently verify. Netanyahu said Israel had achieved almost total control of
the skies over the Iranian capital. Trump struck a similarly defiant tone,
repeating the claim that Iran had been close to developing a nuclear weapon.
He also suggested U.S. troops could eventually be needed to secure Iran's
enriched uranium stockpiles. Separately, he blamed Iran for what the country's
authorities said was a deadly strike on an elementary school in Minab last
Saturday that killed at least 150 people. Iran has blamed Washington for the
strike.Neither the U.S. nor Israel has claimed responsibility for the attack and
AFP could not independently verify the circumstances.
No clear way out
Analysts warn there is still no clear path to ending a conflict that U.S. and
Israeli officials say could last a month or longer. Trump has suggested Iran's
economy could be rebuilt if a leader "acceptable" to Washington replaces the
late supreme leader, which Tehran has rejected. China and Russia have largely
stayed on the sidelines despite close ties with Tehran. China's top diplomat
Wang Yi said on Sunday that the war in the Middle East should "never have
happened"."This is a war that should never have happened," he told a press
conference in Beijing, adding that "a strong fist does not mean strong reason.
The world cannot return to the law of the jungle."
Iran Guards say targeted Tel Aviv, airbase in Jordan
Agence France Presse/March 08/2026
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that they had launched missiles
towards the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Bersheeva, as well as an airbase in
Jordan. "The 28th wave of the Operation Honest Promise 4 was launched by the
next-generation missiles of the Guards aerospace force against the areas of
Beersheva, Tel Aviv, and the Al-Azraq airbase," the Guards said in a statement,
according to state TV.
Iran sends first significant
message of de-escalation, but with a major caveat
Analysis by Mostafa Salem/CNN/08
march/2026
Moments after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an apparently
prerecorded statement that Tehran would halt attacks on its Gulf neighbors under
certain conditions, several reported new strikes.
The launches were some of the largest since the war began and coincided with the
one-week anniversary of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s killing in strikes by the
United States and Israel. Pezeshkian said the decision to stop attacks on the
Gulf unless strikes on Iran originated from those countries’ territories was
taken Friday. On Saturday morning, Iran fired 16 ballistic missiles and 121
drones on the United Arab Emirates alone. Still, in what are the highest-level
de-escalatory comments so far from Iran, Pezeshkian apologized to his neighbors
for days of strikes that have sparked panic in areas once thought safe.
Since taking office, the reformist leader has presented himself with an almost
constant air of regret, issuing multiple public apologies during his tenure –
for the sharp deterioration of the national economy, the killing of thousands of
protesters during demonstrations and the persistent inefficiencies of his own
government. Now he’s apologizing on behalf of Iran’s armed forces, saying they
“acted on their own authority and did what was necessary to defend our homeland
with dignity and strength,” a recurring message from some Iranian leaders
justifying the heavy targeting of cities across the Gulf Arab states.
Unknown future
It is unclear whether the pronouncements of the Leadership Council, of which
Pezeshkian is now a member after US-Israeli strikes killed other key leaders,
align with the goals of the armed forces or the powerful Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC), which have independently activated their own measures in
response to the US and Israeli attacks. Pezeshkian’s comments brought relief
across Gulf Arab states. Yet the projectiles that flew overhead shortly after
his speech show it is too early to say if Iranian attacks have halted.
And his comments came with the condition that territories of Gulf Arab states,
which host several large US military bases, are not used to launch attacks
against Iran. Pezeshkian’s office stressed in an “explanation” statement after
his speech that Iran would “give a decisive response to any aggression from
American bases.”As the region grapples with an unknown future, it remains
unclear what actions Iran’s armed forces and its proxies would regard as
hostiles to the Islamic Republic.
unknown content item
Shortly after Pezeshkian’s statement, US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth
Social that Iran had “surrendered to its Middle East neighbors” and that it
“will be hit very hard” today, with areas of the country under consideration for
“complete destruction and certain death.”Iran’s army issued its own statement
saying that if offensive actions against Iran continue, “all military bases and
interests of the criminal American regime and the fake Zionist regime on land,
sea, and air in the region will be the main targets” of “crushing and severe
strikes by the powerful Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Leadership vacuum
Pezeshkian made his comments amid a leadership vacuum and uncertainty over the
path forward for Iran.
Joining Pezeshkian on the leadership council are senior cleric Ayatollah Alireza
Arefi, 67, a powerful member of the Guardian Council, and Gholamhossein Mohseni
Ejei, the notorious head of the judiciary. Together they form the interim
authority to manage the country’s affairs until a successor to Khamenei is
chosen
As the council struggles to manage wartime affairs for a population of 96
million now enduring the heaviest military strikes in their nation’s history,
Iran’s army, now with interim leaders, has become largely independent and
isolated.
Even Oman, a key mediator with close relations to Iran, has been hit by Iranian
projectiles. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the attacks were
not the government’s choice and that Tehran had already instructed the armed
forces to exercise caution in selecting targets, but said military units had
grown “independent and somewhat isolated.”“They are acting based on general
instructions given to them in advance,” Araghchi told Al Jazeera this week. In a
possible sign of impatience, several prominent clerics in Iran have urged the
swift election of a new supreme leader. Electing a supreme leader is a
confidential and complex process restricted to clerics from a council called the
Assembly of Experts – a procedure has been followed only once, 37 years ago,
when the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died and
Khamenei was picked as his successor.Khamenei was elected supreme leader within
24 hours, as the clerics moved swiftly to fill the immense void left by the
revered Ayatollah Khomeini. The new leader went on to rule for 37 years before
his assassination. Today, the Islamic Republic recognizes that it faces an
existential crisis and is proceeding with extreme caution in selecting its next
leader.
Iranian army says at least
104 killed in US attack on Iranian warship last week
Reuters/08 March/2026
The Iranian army said on Sunday that at least 104 people were killed and 32 were
wounded in an attack by the US on an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka’s coast last
week.
A US submarine sank the frigate Dena in the Indian Ocean about 19 nautical miles
off Sri Lanka’s southern port city of Galle on Wednesday, killing dozens of
sailors and dramatically widening Washington's pursuit of the Iranian navy.
Another US military service member dies in Iran operations,
bringing total to 7
Al Arabiya English/09 March/2026
The US military on Sunday announced that a service member had died after being
wounded by an Iranian attack, the seventh American combat death since the war
began. US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military forces in
the Middle East, said in a statement that the service member died Saturday night
“from injuries received during the Iranian regime’s initial attacks across the
Middle East” on March 1. It did not provide further details about the
circumstances of the attack and said the service member’s identity was being
withheld until 24 hours after notification of the person’s family.
The six other US service members killed so far were all in Kuwait and also
struck in the initial wave of retaliatory attacks from Iran. Since the United
States and Israel launched their mass aerial campaign against Iran on February
28, Tehran has responded with waves of drone and missile attacks on Israel and
on nations around the Middle East. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump and
other top officials attended the repatriation of the bodies of the six dead
soldiers at a US military base in Delaware. With AFP
UK’s Starmer speaks with US President Trump on Middle East
Reuters/08 Marc/2026
Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with US President Donald Trump on Sunday, less
than a day after Trump mounted his latest criticism of the British leader over a
perceived lack of support for the US campaign against Iran.“The leaders began by
discussing the latest situation in the Middle East and the military cooperation
between the UK and US through the use of RAF (Royal Air Force) bases in support
of the collective self-defense of partners in the region,” a spokeswoman from
Starmer’s office said in a statement. The statement did not reference Trump’s
most recent remarks, made in a post on Truth Social, in which he responded to
news Britain may send an aircraft carrier to the region by saying “We don’t need
people that join Wars after we’ve already won!” The spokeswoman from Starmer’s
office added: “The Prime Minister also shared his heartfelt condolences with
President Trump and the American people following the deaths of six US
soldiers.” “They looked forward to speaking again soon.”
Israeli military says it struck space force headquarters of Iran’s IRGC
Al Arabiya English/08 March/2026
The Israeli military said on Sunday it had struck what it described as the
“space force headquarters” of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in
Tehran.
“As part of the strikes, the [Israeli military] targeted and dismantled the
Iranian terror regime’s IRGC Space Force headquarters,” the military said. “The
headquarters served as a reception, transmission and research center for the
Iranian Space Agency, which is affiliated with the regime’s military,” it said.
The military said the site included research facilities as well as the
command-and-control center for the “Khayyam” satellite, which was used to
“monitor the State of Israel and its residents.”In August 2022, Russia launched
the satellite on a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Iran’s space agency said at the time that the device was constructed by Russia
under Iranian supervision. The US said that the Khayyam satellite would give
Iran “significant spying capabilities.”Iran’s space agency rejected that, saying
that the purpose of Khayyam was to “monitor the country’s borders,” and help
with the management of natural resources and agriculture. On Sunday, the Israeli
military said it had also targeted other sites in Tehran, including around 50
bunkers that stored ammunition and a compound belonging to the IRGC’s ground
forces.With AFP
UAE says it’s acting in self-defense against Iran’s ‘brutal
and unjustified aggression’
Al Arabiya English/08 Mar/2026
The United Arab Emirates said on Sunday it was acting in self-defense against
what it described as “brutal and unjustified aggression” by Iran, which has been
carrying out attacks against the UAE and other countries in the region for more
than a week.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran that
killed its supreme leader and triggered a regional war. Iran responded with
drone and missile attacks across the Middle East, including strikes that have
hit neighboring countries that say they are neither involved in the conflict nor
have permitted warring parties to launch attacks from their territory. “The
United Arab Emirates affirms that it is acting in self-defense against the
brutal and unjustified Iranian aggression, which included the launch of more
than 1,400 ballistic missiles and drones targeting infrastructure and civilian
sites, resulting in civilian casualties,” the UAE’s foreign ministry said in a
statement. “The UAE emphasizes that it does not seek to be drawn into any
conflicts or escalation. However, it affirms its full right to take all
necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, national security, and
territorial integrity, and to ensure the safety and security of its citizens and
residents, based on its right to self-defense in accordance with international
law and the UN Charter,” the ministry added. Gulf countries reported new missile
and drone attacks on Sunday as the regional war entered its second week. Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait all reported fresh attacks,
after loud explosions were heard in Dubai and Bahrain’s capital Manama a day
earlier. The attacks came despite Iran’s president apologizing to Gulf countries
for earlier strikes, saying they would no longer be targeted unless attacks were
launched from their territory first. Hours later, however, Iran’s judiciary
chief said strikes would continue against sites in Gulf countries that were “at
the disposal of the enemy.”UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said
on Saturday that the Emirates were in “a time of war” and would “emerge
stronger” from it. Dubai authorities said Saturday that a Pakistani national was
killed after debris from an “aerial interception” fell onto a vehicle.Iranian
President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday his earlier remarks had been
“misinterpreted by the enemy that seeks to sow division with neighbors,”
according to state TV, after his comments were widely seen as indicating a
suspension of attacks on Gulf countries. “It has repeatedly been said we are
brothers and must have good relations with neighbors. However, we are forced to
retaliate to attacks but this does not mean we have a dispute with a
(neighboring) country or want to upset their people,” Pezeshkian said.
The Latest
LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on March 08-09/2026
Question: What role
does Iran play in the end times?
GotQuestions.org/March 08/2026
Answer: There are several biblical prophecies of the end times that mention
Iran, called Persia or Elam in the Bible. Given the fact that Iran is often in
the news as a nation seeking armaments (possibly nuclear) and repeatedly issuing
threats against Israel, students of Bible prophecy are taking note. The
conflicts with Israel and the United States in June of 2025 and February of 2026
definitely brought Iran to the forefront of Bible prophecy conversations.
Iran does have a role to play in the end times, but, first, a little history of
Iran and its neighborhood, as it relates to biblical history. Jeremiah
prophesied that Elam, a nation east of Babylon, west of Persia, and south of
Media, would be conquered and then rise to power again (Jeremiah 49:34–39). True
to that prophecy, Babylon conquered Elam in 596 BC. But then Persia, under Cyrus
the Great, took control of that area, and the Elamites and Medes became part of
the Persian Empire. The Medo-Persian Empire ascended to power and conquered
Babylon in 539 BC, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 21:2. This happened during
the time of Daniel (Daniel 5); in fact, Daniel later resided “in the province of
Elam” in Persia (Daniel 8:2). Persia is the setting for the book of Esther and
the first part of Nehemiah.
Alexander the Great’s conquests put an end to Persia as a world power,
fulfilling the prophecy of Daniel 8. In the following centuries, Persia was
ruled by the Seleucids, the Parthians, the Sassanians, the Romans, the
Byzantines, and finally, in AD 636, the Muslims. In 1501, the state of Iran was
founded.
In the New Testament, people from the area of Iran are mentioned indirectly:
“Parthians, Medes and Elamites” were present in Jerusalem on the Day of
Pentecost (Acts 2:9). All three of these people groups were Jews who lived in
the area of ancient Persia, modern-day Iran, and they were present in Jerusalem
to witness the birth of the church.
Iran’s involvement in the end times will be as one of the nations involved in
the battle of Gog and Magog, which probably occurs during the first half of the
tribulation. Ezekiel 38:5 specifically mentions Persia as an ally of Magog/Russia.
Other nations included in this coalition will be Sudan, Turkey, Libya, and
others. This vast army will come against Israel, who at that time will be “a
peaceful and unsuspecting people” (Ezekiel 38:11).
The outcome of this end-times invasion is predicted: God supernaturally
intervenes, and Gog’s coalition is utterly destroyed. “On the mountains of
Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will
give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals” (Ezekiel
39:4–5). Iran, allied with Russia, will think their invasion of Israel is a sure
victory, but God has different plans. In protecting Jerusalem, God will send a
strong message to the world: “I will make known my holy name among my people
Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know
that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel” (Ezekiel 39:7).
Between might of American
military power and suicide of Iranian ideology doctrine
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya English/08 March/2026
The confrontation between the United States and Iran has today reached a stage
where the might of American military power meets the suicide doctrine of Iranian
ideology, based on what Tehran considers a “divine capacity” that refuses the
idea of surrender. The question remains: Who will face defeat, and who will
claim victory between these two logics, as Tehran’s room for maneuver shrinks
amid confusion and fragmentation within Iran’s decision-making circles?
In President Donald Trump’s dictionary, surrender means the complete dismantling
of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the security apparatus, and
even parts of the Iranian army, while maintaining communication with some of its
elements.
Trump places Iran before a clear equation: Either a regular and organized
political change through the cooperation of certain army elements, or
acknowledgment of defeat and surrender with offered immunity, or, alternatively,
a dangerous chaos imposed to force the establishment of a new system in Iran.
The American military strategy is based on continuing heavy strikes deep into
Iran to damage the military infrastructure, achieve complete control of Iranian
airspace to halt missile launches, cut internal communication structures to
paralyze governance, and target Iran’s proxies abroad – particularly in Iraq –
while Israel undertakes the mission of dismantling Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In other words, the current objective is the disarmament of Iran – not only its
nuclear capabilities or ballistic missiles, but transforming Iran into a
disarmed state. In the American lexicon, this stage is labeled “military
liquidation” for Iran, while Iranian leadership struggles with a form of
political liquidation within its own ranks.Within Iran, signs of confusion and
fragmentation are evident among different leadership factions, reflecting a
disordered management of the war. Contradictory statements and mixed messages
indicate more than one center of decision-making in Tehran. This multiplicity of
authority, amid the Revolutionary Guards’ panic and the religious leadership’s
anxiety, has become even more dangerous in the face of a military confrontation
of this scale. The Iranian presidency is attempting to catch its breath, as seen
in President Masoud Pezeskian’s apology to neighboring Gulf states. Yet the
mullahs and the IRGC are determined to marginalize the civilian presidency and
strip it of credibility, having accompanied the apology with missile
demonstrations.
These are men of strategic recklessness. They believe that expanding the range
of strikes on neighboring Gulf Cooperation Council countries will instill fear
over the war’s consequences, pressuring the United States to halt its campaign
against Iran.
They also believe that threatening European countries will make them stand
against the United States in this war. In reality, European hesitation to join
US military operations stems partially from fear of Iranian retaliation. This
does not negate European support for US operations, nor their enabling
assistance. Iran’s gamble of leveraging Europe through threats of retaliation
has failed to produce results.
Iran’s scattered attacks on neighboring states have reached Azerbaijan, Turkey,
and Cyprus, ranging from denials to claims of errors, to burying their heads in
the sand. Hezbollah’s missiles from Lebanon reached Cyprus, which currently
holds the EU presidency. A renewed direct attack on Cyprus would compel European
countries to escalate their positions against Iran. Some of these countries are
moving to establish a coalition to secure maritime routes in the Strait of
Hormuz – vital for the global economy – alongside the United States. The plan is
to escort vessels, deter Iranian attacks, and ensure the security and stability
of global commerce.The economic noose tightens around Iran’s neck while US
forces simultaneously tighten the grip on Iran’s proxies. In Iraq, US forces
have begun targeting Iranian-aligned factions to weaken them and prevent Iranian
assistance. In Lebanon, Iran can no longer assist Hezbollah, which now leads the
confrontation with Israel alone, potentially inviting the reoccupation of
Lebanese territories. The strategic goal of the United States and Israel is the
complete dismantling of Hezbollah’s structure – not only militarily but also
organizationally. However, Israel’s determination to eliminate Hezbollah will
inevitably damage Lebanon’s infrastructure. Hezbollah is aware that Iran cannot
continue to support it, yet it persists in escalation.
Radical and unprecedented decisions are required from the Lebanese state to
enforce its commitments against Hezbollah while simultaneously pursuing
diplomatic engagement with France and the United States to secure guarantees
that Israel will not remain an occupying force in Lebanon. The Lebanese army has
the capacity if political will exists; the challenge is not military capability
but political decision-making. Continued hesitation and fear of internal
division could produce the opposite outcome and a prolonged Israeli occupation.
The coming days are crucial, sensitive, and highly dangerous. No American ground
forces will be deployed now for combat, but coordination with regional forces or
allies will handle field operations. Special Forces might be sent for special
tasks such as securing Iran’s uranium or assisting in the transitional
operations.Still, American confidence in military might may find an unpleasant
surprise in Iranian willingness to bring the house down with its suicidal
doctrine.
The Only Brave Leaders Standing Against Iran's Reign of
Terror
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 08/2026
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22319/standing-against-iran
Entire generations of Iranians have lived under a
state apparatus that treats humanity as expendable; yet for decades, the
international community has not only turned a blind eye; instead, it has
actively funded and enabled this half-century horror show.
While other countries remain silent, hesitant, or complicit through inaction,
the United States and Israel have taken the only path that has a chance of
restoring stability, opening the door to freedom and protecting innocent lives.
Standing against tyranny – not procrastination, appeasement or bribery -- seems
to be the only way to protect civilization. The sooner one disables a tyranny,
the easier it is to defeat it.
Today, as the United States and Israel carry out operations against Iran's
tyranny, they deserve recognition and support. These are the only countries
standing between the world and a state that has terrorized its citizens and the
global community for nearly half a century.
The silence and inaction of so many nations is no longer acceptable. Supporting
these efforts means choosing freedom over despotism, courage over fear, and
justice over complicity.
God bless the United States and Israel -- and President Donald J. Trump and
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- the only brave leaders standing against
this regime of terror. All who care about freedom should align with them at
once.
Entire generations of Iranians have lived under a state apparatus that treats
humanity as expendable; yet for decades, the international community has not
only turned a blind eye; instead, it has actively funded and enabled this
half-century horror show.
For 47 years, the world has endured a regime that has consistently inflicted
terror, suffering, and violence both within its own borders and across the
globe. The Islamic Republic of Iran, since its inception in 1979, has built its
identity around repression, brutality, and the export of radical ideology. Tens
of thousands of its own citizens have been killed, tortured, or imprisoned
simply for voicing dissent or seeking the simple freedoms we take for granted.
The regime has crushed protests, silenced journalists, and employed fear and
intimidation to maintain its grip on power. Entire generations of Iranians have
lived under a state apparatus that treats humanity as expendable; yet for
decades, the international community has not only turned a blind eye; instead,
it has actively funded and enabled this half-century horror show. This is a
regime that embodies terror at every level, a regime whose brutality is
unmatched in modern history, and for far too long, its evil has gone unchecked.
Beyond its borders, Iran has relentlessly exported its ideology of terror.
Through the creation, sponsorship, and support of groups such as Hezbollah,
Hamas, and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Yemen, it has spread death and
instability across the Middle East. These groups have carried out massacres,
kidnappings, and attacks targeting civilians and military personnel alike. The
October massacre against Israel, which claimed the lives of Americans, Israelis,
and countless other innocents, is only one example of the deadly reach of this
regime's proxies. The Houthis in Yemen, emboldened and armed by Tehran, continue
to strike indiscriminately at civilians and infrastructure. Iraqi militias,
funded and trained by Iran, have destabilized Iraq and threatened neighboring
countries.
In every corner of the region, Iran has sown chaos, violence, and fear.
Globally, it remains a source of terrorism, providing funding, intelligence, and
direction to networks that have carried out attacks far beyond the Middle East.
Its influence is not just regional; it is global, and its hand is visible in
countless acts of evil and destruction.
The regime's hostility toward the United States, Israel and the West has been
clear from its founding. From hostage-taking of American citizens during the
early years of the revolution to the assassination of U.S. personnel and attacks
on American troops in Iraq and elsewhere, Iran has made no secret of its mission
to destroy its perceived enemies. American forces have long been targeted by
Iran and its proxies, and the toll has been staggering. In April 1983, a suicide
car bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut killed 63 people, a brutal
demonstration of the regime's willingness to attack diplomats and civilians
alike. Just months later, in October 1983, the Marine barracks in Beirut were
struck in a devastating suicide attack that claimed the lives of 241 U.S.
service personnel—the deadliest single attack against American Marines since the
World War II battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. These attacks were part of a
coordinated campaign of terror orchestrated by Iranian-backed groups, sending a
clear message that the United States and its forces were prime targets. American
lives were taken by its proxy networks, and its agents have plotted and carried
out attacks across the globe. From the very beginning, the regime declared
"Death to America" and "Death to Israel" as central tenets of its ideology. Its
constitution enshrines the export of revolution as a state mission, seeking to
impose an Islamic governance system across the world. The evidence is clear:
this is not a regime capable of reform, compromise, or negotiation. Its mission
is radical, its methods brutal, and its intentions unequivocal. It seeks
domination, not coexistence.
For decades, the world attempted diplomacy, negotiations, and appeasement. Deals
were made, promises were given, and hopes were placed in talks that often
delayed confrontation but never changed behavior. The Obama-era nuclear
agreement, for example, but emboldened the regime. History teaches us that
appeasement does not stop evil; it encourages it, just as Winston Churchill,
warned: "Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile
will eat him last." For decades, nations hesitated, negotiated, and compromised,
hoping the regime would act differently, but the result was only more terror,
more aggression, and more human suffering.
Now, for the first time in decades, truly courageous leadership has emerged in
the presence of U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. They recognized that only decisive action could halt the
regime's implacable destruction. Military operations have targeted Iran's
military infrastructure, nuclear capabilities, and leadership centers — a
necessary strike against a regime whose ideology will not, and cannot, change.
This is not aggression for its own sake; it is the enforcement of justice
against a state that has long been a global threat. While other countries remain
silent, hesitant, or complicit through inaction, the United States and Israel
have taken the only path that has a chance of restoring stability, opening the
door to freedom and protecting innocent lives.
Iran was actively pursuing nuclear weapons to transform a dangerous regional
power into an unstoppable global threat. Iran's regime was driven by ideology
and fueled by hate. Iran's core beliefs have not changed in almost half a
century, and there is no reason to assume they ever will. This is a regime that
does not value life beyond its own survival and expansionist goals.
The consequences of confronting this evil extend far beyond Iran. Terrorist
groups across the Middle East would lose a sponsor. The largest source of
conflict, instability, and threat to American and Israeli lives would be
removed. Peace and stability, long elusive in the region, would finally have a
chance to take hold. Standing against tyranny -- not procrastination,
appeasement or bribery -- seems to be the only way to protect civilization. The
sooner one confronts the tyranny, the less costly it is for both the citizens
held hostage by despotic leaders and for those determined to preserve a free way
of life.
Europe and other powers have historically sought compromise or neutrality, often
under the cowardly hope that peace can be achieved without confrontation. But
history has proven the opposite: silence in the face of evil is complicity, and
compromise can empower aggressors. The international community needs to
recognize that supporting the United States and Israel in their decisive action
is not aggression; it is the defense of global stability, civilization and human
life. Nations need to stop enabling the regime through hesitation, silence, or
negotiation and join the courageous few who have acted decisively.
Today, as the United States and Israel carry out operations against Iran's
tyranny, they deserve recognition and support. These are the only countries
standing between the world and a state that has terrorized its citizens and the
global community for nearly half a century. Their bravery demonstrates that
peace and security require courage, decisiveness, and moral clarity. The silence
and inaction of so many nations is no longer acceptable. Supporting these
efforts means choosing freedom over despotism, courage over fear, and justice
over complicity.
God bless the United States President Donald J. Trump and Israel's Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- the only brave leaders standing against Iran's
reign of terror. Anyone caring about freedom should align with them at once.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and
board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on
the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
*Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Make or Break Time for Iran's Remaining Allies
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/March 08/2026
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22322/iran-allies
Now, following the demise of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as
well as scores of other prominent members of the regime, countries that have
previously tried to maintain cordial relations with the ayatollahs face a stark
choice: do they want to maintain their ties with known Islamist extremists, or
forge closer ties with the US and its allies?
What if, however -- Washington and Jerusalem should both carefully note -- they
choose both? With the Iranian threat gone, what would prevent them from
complying with Trump's demands of the moment and enjoying the benefits of
modernity -- and then, when he is no longer in office, continue supporting
terrorism, religious extremism and jihad (holy war)?
Just because one is happy to have a roaring economy -- as we already see with
Qatar -- that does not necessarily mean one will be happy with what is already
being reported as "concern" about Israel's increased standing in the region.
The only GCC member state opposed to confronting Iran was -- predictably --
Qatar, a state that has tried to maintain ties with the ayatollahs while
becoming one of the main backers of Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly condemned the joint US-Israeli
attack on Iran while saying he is "saddened" by the elimination of Khamenei and
offering his "condolences" to the people of Iran.
Erdogan's reaction is indicative of the close ties he has developed with Iran's
ayatollahs, and his opposition to the notion of the emergence of a democratic,
Western-aligned government in Tehran.
Turkey, which remains a member of the Nato alliance, has done its best to
undermine the Trump administration's military campaign against Iran, denying US
forces vital access to its air, land and maritime space to conduct operations
against the ayatollahs.
The Trump administration certainly needs to take note of the long-term hostile
conduct of so-called allies such as Turkey, Qatar and Pakistan as the US and
Israel attempt to destroy Iran's nuclear program once and for all, and
especially in rebuilding Gaza.
At the very least, if Turkey is not prepared to support the US military in times
of crisis and no longer acts as an ally -- and is indeed acting contrary to US
interests -- then the White House would do well to conclude that the US and its
allies should cease all military cooperation with it.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly condemned the joint US-Israeli
attack on Iran while saying he is "saddened" by the elimination of Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei and offering his "condolences" to the people of Iran. Erdogan's
reaction is indicative of the close ties he has developed with Iran's
ayatollahs, and his opposition to the notion of the emergence of a democratic,
Western-aligned government in Tehran.
US President Donald J. Trump's decision to launch his devastating military
campaign against Iran's ayatollahs means that countries, such as Turkey and
Qatar, which have previously been ambivalent about their attitude towards
Tehran, will now need to undertake a serious reappraisal of where their true
interests lie. Prior to Trump launching "Operation Epic Fury", the military
campaign designed to eliminate Iran's ability to produce nuclear weapons,
ballistic missiles or support its proxies once and for all, several important
regional players sought to remain neutral as the tensions deepened between
Washington and Tehran over Iran's nuclear programme.
Even though they claimed to be allies of the US, they also sought to maintain
links with the ayatollahs, even when it became abundantly clear that the Trump
administration was determined to confront Iran over its clear delaying tactics
in the recent round of nuclear negotiations.
Now, following the demise of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as
well as scores of other prominent members of the regime, countries that have
previously tried to maintain cordial relations with the ayatollahs face a stark
choice: do they want to maintain their ties with known Islamist extremists, or
forge closer ties with the US and its allies?
How they respond to this dilemma could have vital implications for their future
development. By aligning themselves with the West, they will have the
opportunity to benefit from having access to the exciting technological
revolution taking place in Silicon Valley, involving new technologies such as
artificial intelligence. On the other hand, if they choose to maintain their
ties with extreme Islamist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the
founders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, they will be left to fend
for themselves.
What if, however -- Washington and Jerusalem should both carefully note -- they
choose both? With the Iranian threat gone, what would prevent them from
complying with Trump's demands of the moment and enjoying the benefits of
modernity -- and then, when he is no longer in office, continue supporting
terrorism, religious extremism and jihad (holy war)?
Just because one is happy to have a roaring economy -- as we already see with
Qatar -- that does not necessarily mean one will be happy with what is already
being reported as "concern" about Israel's increased standing in the region.
The first suggestion that many Arab leaders may be reconsidering their neutral
status in the conflict between the US and Iran came over a week ago, when Gulf
leaders voiced their condemnation of Iran's "reckless and indiscriminate
attacks" on their territory and infrastructure.
Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional organisation
comprising Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab
Emirates, indicated they were giving serious consideration to exercising their
right "to respond to Iranian attacks" in order to protect regional security and
stability.
In an attempt to escalate the conflict, Iran has deliberately targeted several
of its Gulf neighbours, launching missiles and drones targeting sites in Kuwait,
Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The attacks are seen
by many as a deliberate ploy by the Iranian regime to pressure pro-Western Gulf
states into calling on Trump and the Israelis to end their military campaign
against the ayatollahs.
To judge by the response from Gulf leaders, however, the Iranian ploy has had
the opposite effect, with Arab leaders now giving serious consideration to
abandoning their neutrality and actively giving their backing to the US military
campaign.
The only GCC member state opposed to confronting Iran was -- predictably --
Qatar, a state that has tried to maintain ties with the ayatollahs while
becoming one of the main backers of Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Qatar's former prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin
Jaber Al Thani, cautioned that GCC states "must not be dragged into a direct
confrontation with Iran", even though Tehran "violated the sovereignty of the
Council's states and was the aggressor".
Another sign that attitudes in the Arab world were hardening towards Iran's
mullahs came with a joint statement issued by the leaders of Bahrain, Iraq,
Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, saying
that "Iran's actions represent a dangerous escalation that violates the
independence of numerous countries and threatens regional stability. Targeting
civilians and countries not engaged in hostilities is reckless and
destabilizing".
Another important consequence of Iranian aggression is that it has helped to
heal the deepening rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, whose relations had
been badly affected by rifts caused by their involvement in the conflicts in
Yemen and Sudan, where the two monarchies have often found themselves supporting
different sides. In a sign of a rapprochement, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman and the UAE's President Mohammed bin Zayed spoke for the first time in
months.
The shifting geopolitical landscape in the Middle East certainly makes the
position of Turkey, a country that has sought to maintain strong ties with both
Washington and Tehran, look even more exposed, especially after Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly condemned the joint US-Israeli attack on
Iran while saying he is "saddened" by the elimination of Khamenei and offering
his "condolences" to the people of Iran.
Erdogan's reaction is indicative of the close ties he has developed with Iran's
ayatollahs, and his opposition to the notion of the emergence of a democratic,
Western-aligned government in Tehran.
Prior to the launch of Operation Epic Fury, Turkey had joined several Arab
states in trying to negotiate a "diplomatic solution" between Washington and
Tehran.
Turkey's objective in the negotiations was to strike a deal whereby Tehran would
be allowed to preserve elements of its nuclear infrastructure, thereby keeping
open the option of the mullahs being able to develop nuclear weapons at a future
date.
Turkey, which remains a member of the Nato alliance, has done its best to
undermine the Trump administration's military campaign against Iran, denying US
forces vital access to its air, land and maritime space to conduct operations
against the ayatollahs.
Pakistan, which sits on Trump's "Board of Peace," despite its failure to
recognize Israel, has also been clearly pro-Iran, although carefully framing its
objections in terms of international law rather than theology.
The Trump administration certainly needs to take note of the long-term hostile
conduct of so-called allies such as Turkey, Qatar and Pakistan as the US and
Israel attempt to destroy Iran's nuclear program once and for all, and
especially in rebuilding Gaza.
At the very least, if Turkey is not prepared to support the US military in times
of crisis and no longer acts as an ally -- and is indeed acting contrary to US
interests -- then the White House would do well to conclude that the US and its
allies should cease all military cooperation with it.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a
Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
The end of Iran as a military power
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Asdharq Al Awsat/March 08/2026
Although only one week has passed since the outbreak of the large-scale war, the
imbalance in the balance of power is already undermining the capabilities of
Iran’s regime, which had long refused to give up these capabilities through
negotiations. The outcome is largely expected, despite Iran’s extensive
counterpropaganda. From an analytical perspective, the early results can be
viewed as a success in containing the Iranian threat, even if they fall short of
a complete victory. At the same time, however, the regime itself remains intact.
Current assessments suggest the fighting could end within a few weeks, perhaps
even sooner if the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), which
effectively controls decision-making in Tehran, accepts a form of “partial
surrender” that allows the system to survive.
So far, the signs of what comes after the war do not suggest that the regime is
on the verge of collapse, either through internal unrest or external pressure.
That may mean the world will have to accept living with a weakened but still
functioning regime. This recalls the “Safwan tent” scenario, when Iraq signed
its surrender after its defeat in Kuwait and the destruction of much of its
military. Saddam Hussein’s regime remained in power for another 12 years before
it was finally removed in 2003. A similar pattern may now be unfolding.
The early conclusion, based on available military analyses, is that the
existential threat Iran once posed to the region through its arsenal has
effectively been neutralized.
Last week’s war, brief as it was, demonstrated clearly that the regime had both
the plans and the capability to devastate the Gulf region.
Its attacks targeted more than ten countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Jordan and Iraq. Although the
regime claimed its strikes were directed at military targets, in reality many of
them hit civilian sites, including ports, airports, hotels and residential
neighborhoods. Iran built these capabilities with the aim of dominating the
region. Tehran’s strategy of developing destructive capacities capable of
paralyzing or even toppling neighboring states was never a secret. The question
was always when “zero hour” would arrive, perhaps after the regime achieved
nuclear deterrence, which would have granted Tehran protection from
international military intervention.
From this perspective, the collapse of what could be described as Iran’s
“weapons empire” represents an extremely significant political development, one
that will have far-reaching consequences. Iran’s plan to project itself as a
dominant military power and a source of danger to its neighbors is now being
dismantled. In the coming weeks, estimates suggest that the remaining elements
of Iran’s weapons arsenal, along with its factories and military institutions
built over three decades, will be destroyed. This could grant the region a
reprieve from Iranian threats for perhaps a decade, assuming a negative “Saddam
scenario,” in which a weakened but surviving regime attempts to rebuild its
capabilities.
Another possibility, however, is that Tehran itself may change, either through a
transformation of the regime or its policies, becoming a more normal state
focused on development and regional cooperation.
The human and material losses suffered by our countries are painful. The Iranian
people themselves are also at the heart of the war and are the most exposed to
destruction, largely because of what the regime has done to them and to the
region.
Even so, the cost of the war may ultimately be manageable.
Stripping the regime of its military claws would represent a historic
achievement of enormous significance. It would serve the interests of the
region, including the Iranian people themselves, whose country’s resources had
long been diverted toward military ambitions.
What remains uncertain is what comes next in Tehran. Even after the elimination
of many senior Iranian leaders, it may not be possible to impose a “friendly
regime,” as Washington might hope. No internal Iranian forces have yet emerged
willing to support the restoration of the Shah, nor are there signs of divisions
within the military establishment, which for now appears loyal and disciplined.
Today the regime in Tehran is facing the most dangerous crisis in its history
and is struggling to survive. The outcome of this difficult transition remains
uncertain. So far, however, there is no opposition force on the ground capable
of challenging the wounded regime. Nor has a broad popular movement emerged that
could attract members of the military establishment and trigger widespread
defections. Some believe it is only a matter of time before local forces move
against the weakened regime, but without support from elements within the
military, meaningful change remains unlikely. History offers a comparison: after
Iraq’s defeat in Kuwait, despite major military campaigns and a decade of
suffocating sanctions, neither internal Iraqi uprisings nor external opposition
groups succeeded in toppling Saddam Hussein. Ultimately, the United States
removed him by force, deploying roughly a quarter of a million troops with
international support. A similar invasion scenario is unlikely to be repeated in
Iran for several reasons.
In light of this, the United States may find itself with limited options, the
most prominent being to deal with whoever emerges from within the existing
system to take power. Washington possesses the military leverage that could
allow it to impose its conditions if it chooses to work with the new reality.
The White House has previously indicated that it would be willing to cooperate,
under its terms, with leaders who emerge from within the regime itself.
Regardless of whether the current regime survives or a successor emerges from
within it, Iran’s ability to threaten the region will have been largely
eliminated by the end of the war, and its regional tools of influence will
likely disappear. The destruction of Iran as a dominant regional power marks the
beginning of a new and significant chapter, the consequences of which will be
discussed later.
The Gulf’s strategic options in a
time of regional escalation
Dr. Khalid Al-Jaber/Arab News/March
08, 2026
• Gulf states seek to avoid being drawn directly into US-Israel strikes on
Iran’s regime while protecting security and economic stability
• Regional governments balance deterrence, diplomacy and strategic
diversification as war reshapes the Middle East’s security architecture
DOHA: The Gulf states are treating the ongoing war between the US and Israel on
one side and Iran on the other as a pivotal moment — not merely in terms of the
scale of the direct military threat, but in terms of the profound
transformations reshaping the region’s architecture and the new maps of power
and influence they may produce. This complexity deeply weaves together the
political, economic, defense and social dimensions of the crisis, making the
decision to “avoid being drawn into war” part of a broader vision for
repositioning the Gulf within regional and international orders.
Politically, the Gulf states have adopted an unambiguous stance: refusal to
become embroiled in an all-out war despite the fact that their territories,
military bases and critical installations now fall within the targeting range of
Iranian missiles and drones at escalatory levels measured by the magnitude of
the threat and its direct implications for sovereignty and national security.
Several Gulf officials characterized this escalation as a crossing of red lines
and a flagrant violation of sovereignty — signaling a rejection of any attempt
to turn Gulf geography into an extension of the military conflict between
external parties. Yet this position should not be understood as absolute
neutrality; rather, it reflects a strategic awareness that the current war is
fundamentally a US-Israeli confrontation with Iran, and that dragging the Gulf
into the heart of this equation would not serve its interests but would instead
expose it to prolonged security and economic attrition, constraining its ability
to pursue its developmental priorities. In the same vein, the behavior of key
states such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar reveals a growing trend toward
diversifying international partnerships and strengthening strategic
decision-making autonomy, while simultaneously maintaining existing security
relationships with the US.
FASTFACTS
• Conflict in the Middle East enters a second week after the US and Israel on
Feb. 28 launched strikes on Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader
• As of March 5, about 1,114 civilians were reported killed and a further 926
reported deaths were under review.
The continuation of open channels of communication with Tehran — whether through
the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement brokered by China or through the regional
mediation efforts undertaken by Qatar and Oman — confirms that the Gulf states
are not seeking to sever all bridges, but to manage the conflict within a
diplomatic framework that mitigates risks and calibrates tensions. This
political compass represents one of the most significant shifts of the current
phase and is likely to deepen in the future as the Gulf’s role expands as a
balancing actor seeking equilibrium between deterrence and dialogue, rather than
engaging in rigid alignments or direct confrontations. Gulf air defense systems
have demonstrated an advanced level of effectiveness in countering Iranian
missile and drone attacks, successfully intercepting and downing more than 90
percent of these threats. This performance reflects a high degree of operational
readiness and integration between surveillance, early warning, and interception
capabilities — limiting potential damage and reinforcing the Gulf states’
ability to protect their airspace and critical infrastructure. Nevertheless,
these developments have revealed that possessing state-of-the-art air defense
systems does not entirely eliminate the risks associated with low-cost,
high-density missile and drone warfare. The attacks exposed coverage gaps in
certain areas and confirmed that defense systems cannot remain confined to a
narrow national framework but require an integrated regional approach and
diversified international partnerships.
In this context, there is growing discussion of accelerating the establishment
of joint early warning systems, linking radar and air defense networks across
the Gulf states, and updating defense doctrine so that it extends beyond the
protection of military bases to encompass cities, economic infrastructure, and
society as a whole. Going forward, the Gulf states will move toward greater
investment in multi-layered air defense, cyber warfare capabilities, and both
defensive and offensive drone systems — while seeking to avoid appearing as an
offensive party that invites broad-scale targeting. This pragmatic defense
posture is part of a larger transition from complete reliance on the Western
security umbrella to building growing indigenous capabilities, without reaching
a rupture with traditional partners.
Economically, strikes targeting facilities and areas near oil and gas
infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and elsewhere have
exposed a growing degree of fragility in what is considered “the heart of the
global economy.” The Gulf states supply approximately one-fifth of the world’s
oil, meaning any disruption to production or export is swiftly reflected in
global energy prices and international financial markets.
Clear indicators of this impact have emerged, including the temporary suspension
of gas production in Qatar and oil production in Kuwait under force majeure
clauses in certain investment contracts, the temporary closure of some
facilities, rising insurance costs for shipping, and the rerouting of maritime
transport lanes. These developments signal a gradual transformation of the
crisis from a regional security threat into an economic risk with repercussions
extending across the global economic system.
At the level of Gulf development models, the persistence of tensions threatens
the image these states have sought to establish as stable, attractive hubs for
investment, tourism, logistics, and financial services. The suspension of some
flights, the postponement of international events and conferences, and the
implementation of precautionary measures to protect civilians all raise the cost
of doing business and deepen market uncertainty.
This may compel Gulf governments to reassess their economic strategies —
balancing the continuation of economic diversification with protecting gains
already achieved, while enhancing supply chain resilience, reducing risk
exposure, and expanding investment in energy security and defense technologies
linked to the protection of critical economic infrastructure. Socially, the
recurring scenes of missiles, repeated alerts, and a state of “permanent
mobilization” have produced a new social reality in Gulf societies. These
communities, accustomed for decades to high levels of stability, prosperity, and
relative insulation from regional conflicts, found themselves suddenly
confronting direct manifestations of modern warfare. The repetition of attack
imagery and the disruption of daily life — even for hours or days — has left a
tangible psychological impact on citizens and residents alike, reviving deep
questions about the concept of safety, the limits of the state’s ability to
provide protection in a turbulent regional environment, and the nature of the
relationship with major powers whose geopolitical conflicts are conducted in the
region’s space in defense of their own strategic interests.
Over the long term, this experience may strengthen feelings of social cohesion
and rally around the idea of “protecting the homeland,” alongside a deeper
appreciation for stability as one of the most important national achievements.
However, these developments may simultaneously open broader debates within the
public sphere regarding the priorities of public policy — particularly the
balance between defense spending and investment in human development sectors
such as education and health — as well as a reassessment of the efficacy of
external security alliances that failed to prevent threats from reaching Gulf
cities’ skies. These questions are likely to become part of the gradual shifts
in political and social consciousness among younger generations and may
contribute to reshaping the contours of the social contract in the Gulf states,
reflecting a more complex regional reality and increasingly interwoven security,
economic, and social challenges. The Gulf is undergoing structural
transformations that extend beyond the repercussions of the current war to
affect the very foundations upon which the regional order rests. On one hand,
the premise of “complete Western protection of the Gulf” is being subjected to a
serious test, as developments have demonstrated that the presence of military
bases and the deployment of foreign forces do not guarantee the neutralization
of threats or the prevention of targeting — they merely limit the scale of
damage or alter the nature of deterrence.
On the other hand, this turbulent environment reinforces the Gulf states’
conviction of the need to reconfigure their international relationships on the
basis of strategic diversification — including expanding partnerships with
China, Russia, East Asia and Europe — and distancing themselves from
unconditional involvement in any alignment within the battles of major powers,
whether in the context of US policy or broader Western interactions.
Looking ahead, we are likely to witness greater interplay between de-escalation
and escalation tracks: behind-the-scenes negotiations and mediation efforts led
by states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, set against the continuation of
targeted strikes as each party seeks to improve its negotiating position through
force. In this context, the Gulf states appear to be adopting a pragmatic option
that blends avoidance of full alignment in the war with an attempt to play a
balancing or mediating role, when possible, while focusing on protecting the
home front and energy infrastructure. If successful, this strategy could
position the Gulf as one of the defining players in shaping the new regional
order — rather than merely serving as an arena for others’ conflicts.
• Dr. Khalid Al-Jaber has held several high-profile leadership roles, including
director of the Al-Sharq Studies & Research Center and Editor-in-Chief of The
Peninsula, one of Qatar’s leading English-language newspapers.
His work and research primarily focuses on the Gulf region, broader Middle East,
and North Africa, encompassing political science, public diplomacy,
international communication, and international relations. He is the author and
editor of several books and has contributed numerous academic studies and
articles in his fields of expertise.
A motorcycle, a gun and another hero is silenced in Iraq
Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/March 08, 2026
In Iraq today, militias speak loudly about resistance while practicing the
politics of fear. They launch drones and missiles toward neighboring countries
and threaten regional stability. At the same time, they have turned their
weapons inward, attacking and intimidating people inside their own country.
These groups answer neither to the Iraqi people nor even to the Iraqi state.
They attack government buildings, defy state authority and act as if the law
does not apply to them, behaving in many parts of Iraq as though the country
belongs to them.
Yet, when an Iraqi woman is assassinated in Baghdad, the world barely notices.
That woman was Yanar Mohammed. Her assassination is not just a tragedy. It is a
brutal reminder of what Iraq has become. Last Monday morning, two men on a
motorcycle pulled up outside Yanar’s home in Baghdad and opened fire. In a few
cruel seconds, her life was taken. The woman who had spent decades standing
beside the most vulnerable in Iraqi society, defending women who had no one else
to defend them, was gone. Her voice was silenced in the same brutal way so many
voices in Iraq have been silenced. But behind the headlines was a human being, a
woman who chose courage over fear and dedicated her life to helping others live
with dignity.
The killers disappeared. And in Iraq, everyone already knows what comes next:
nothing. This is the formula of assassination that has haunted Iraq for years. A
motorcycle. Two men. A gun. The murder takes seconds. The investigation drags on
and the killers are rarely found. Case closed.
Human life in Iraq has become tragically cheap. Activists have been murdered
this way. Journalists have been murdered this way. Protest leaders, scholars,
lawyers and voices on social media have all been hunted down the same way: a
motorcycle, a few shots and another life erased. Some were killed for exposing
corruption. Others for daring to criticize the militias and their leaders. Many
were targeted simply for demanding something basic: a country ruled by law, not
by fear.
The message has always been clear: step out of line, challenge them or do
anything they dislike and you will be silenced. These crimes rarely dominate
headlines anymore because they have become part of Iraq’s daily reality. Iraq
now lives in the shadow of a system in which weapons speak louder than the law.
The country is divided into two very different worlds.
The first world belongs to the political class and those protected by power. It
is a world of armored vehicles, armed bodyguards and heavily fortified homes.
Politicians and militia leaders travel in convoys and live behind walls guarded
by men with big guns. They are “the protected.”Then there is the other Iraq, the
one where most Iraqis live. In this Iraq, ordinary citizens have little
protection. Armed groups decide who may speak and who must be punished. Everyone
knows that challenging corruption, criticizing militias, defending the
vulnerable or confronting extremist ideology can turn you into a target
overnight. In this Iraq, justice does not arrive. Instead, motorcycles do. Yanar
chose to stand with this second Iraq. Born in the 1960s to a teacher mother and
an engineer father, she grew up believing that education and courage could
change society. After 2003, as Iraq struggled to rebuild in the years following
dictatorship and war, she emerged as one of the most fearless defenders of
women’s dignity. Yanar was a woman who chose courage over fear and dedicated her
life to helping others live with dignity. At that time, Yanar made a decision
that required extraordinary courage. She left her home in Canada and returned to
Baghdad, a country still shaken by war and instability, because she believed
Iraqi women needed someone to stand with them.
She co-founded the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq and devoted her life
to protecting women whose suffering rarely reached public attention. She
established the first shelters in Iraq for women and girls fleeing trafficking,
domestic abuse, forced marriages and so-called honor killings. For many of them,
these safehouses meant the difference between life and death.
Some arrived terrified after escaping violent husbands. Others fled families who
had threatened to kill them for refusing forced marriages. Some were rescued
from trafficking networks. Others were young women whose only “crime” was
wanting control over their own lives. In a society where shame and silence often
hide such cruelty, Yanar refused to look away. She opened doors when the world
had closed them. She gave these victims protection, dignity and a chance to
start again.
Hundreds of women and girls are alive today because of those safe houses.
Many went on to rebuild their lives, continue their education and raise families
free from fear. The courage of one woman created a lifeline for many others. But
defending women in Iraq means confronting powerful forces.
Her work angered extremists, tribal authorities and political actors who
believed women should remain silent and obedient. In 2020, even the Iraqi
government filed legal action against her and her colleagues, accusing them of
sheltering women who fled their tribes and defending women who chose
independence over forced marriages or abuse. In other words, she was attacked
for defending freedom. Despite threats, she refused to retreat.
For more than two decades, she spoke out against violence toward women and
warned about armed groups operating above the law, confronting both
fundamentalism and corruption with courage. And her voice carried beyond Iraq.
International human rights organizations recognized her work and activists
around the world saw in her a symbol of courage in the face of intimidation.
Yanar had returned to Baghdad from Canada only days before she was killed. In a
matter of seconds, Iraq lost one of its bravest voices. Her organization later
announced that the safe houses she created would remain open, now without the
woman who built them.
A credible investigation is needed, along with real protection for those
continuing her work. But Iraqis have heard promises like this many times before,
while too many murders remain unsolved and too many brave voices are silenced.
Because Yanar was an Iraqi-Canadian dual citizen, Canada must demand an
independent and transparent investigation. Ottawa must not simply rely on
assurances from the authorities in Baghdad, which have repeatedly failed to
solve similar crimes.
Justice for Yanar will not bring her back. But it would affirm that the lives of
activists, journalists and defenders of human dignity still matter. She refused
to abandon the vulnerable. She opened doors for the forgotten and protected
those marked for violence.
The women whose lives she saved are now her living legacy. The men on the
motorcycle may have taken her life, but they cannot erase her courage, the lives
she saved or the truth she sacrificed her life defending.
Rest in peace, Yanar.
X Platform Selected twittes for
March 08/2026
François Bainy
Schocking !!
The missile that hit the girl school in Iran was from the IRGC Who is killing
innocent Iranians since 1979.
**Make it the easy way.
Avoid more victims.
Hand over the Mortal Remains of Ron Arad to the Israelis and regain your
tranquility.
Faouzi Abou Reslan
https://www.facebook.com/reel/2389287341498206
We are all in pain for what's happening to our country and to our people on the
borders and others who became target in a war that was not in our favor or
interest. God bless Lebanon and all the Lebanese people.
**God bless our citizens who lost their houses or forces vacate it, and wish
better days, and safe return.
Lara Khoury Hafez
Iranians caught in the act of electing an unnamed guide...
What a sign of strength!
Reminds me of that guy who bragged to his friend about holding his house with an
iron hand.
"One day I was arguing with my wife. Suddenly she takes off her shoe to hit me.
I hide under the ottoman.
-Get out of there, rumble!
-Impossible, I'm not moving!
-Get out, I tell you!
-I'm not going out!
And I got the final word sleeping all night under the couch!
Do you see what I mean?...
-Yes my friend, to a hundred people
Michel Hajji Georgiou
I love the people who are matamores against Hezb now, when they
cheerfully supported him or silently remained silent when he was at the peak of
his power, barely a few years ago.
No consistency, no decency in this country.
Nothing but hypocrites.