War in Iran and beyond
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Iran’s armed forces threatened on Saturday to destroy US-linked oil infrastructure after President Donald Trump said the United States had bombed Iran’s oil hub Kharg Island. The military’s al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement cited by Iranian media that oil and energy infrastructure belonging to firms that cooperated with the United States would “immediately be destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes” if Iran’s energy facilities were attacked. – Iran threatens US-linked oil targets after Trump says Kharg bombed
(AFP/Al Arabiya) US President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has been “totally defeated” in the US-Israeli military campaign against the country and wanted a deal he would not accept, despite Iranian officials pledging to continue the fight. “The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal – But not a deal that I would accept!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating. – Trump says ‘Iran totally defeated,’ ‘wants a deal’ he won’t accept
(AFP/Al Arabiya) A drone struck the US embassy in Baghdad on Saturday, an Iraqi security official said, as an AFP journalist saw smoke rising from the complex. – Drone attack takes place on US embassy in Baghdad: Iraqi security source
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Explosions rocked Iraq’s capital Baghdad on Saturday after two strikes targeted the powerful Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah, killing two members including a “key figure,” security sources said. The strikes are the first in the heart of Baghdad to kill Iran-backed fighters since the start of the Middle East war on February 28, which has not spared Iraq, long a proxy battleground between the US and Iran. – Two killed in strikes on Baghdad, targeting Iran-backed group: Sources
(Al Arabiya) An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed a dozen medical staff at a clinic, Lebanese health authorities said Saturday, after Iran-backed Hezbollah’s leader said his group was ready for a long confrontation with Israel. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when the Tehran-backed militant group attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes. –Lebanon says Israeli strike in south kills 12 medics
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Qatar said on Saturday it intercepted two missiles, after blasts were heard in the capital Doha and authorities said they had evacuated some key areas. Interceptors were seen downing two projectiles over the Qatari capital’s downtown area and blasts were heard, according to AFP journalists, as Iran presses on with its retaliatory air campaign against Gulf states. – Qatar intercepts two missiles, evacuates key areas
(Barak Ravid – Axios) Israel is planning to significantly expand its ground operation in Lebanon, aiming to seize the entire area south of the Litani River and dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, Israeli and U.S. officials say. This could be the largest Israeli ground invasion of its northern neighbor since 2006, dragging Lebanon to the epicenter of the escalating war with Iran. “We are going to do what we did in Gaza,” a senior Israeli official said, referring to the flattening of buildings Israel says Hezbollah uses to store weapons and launch attacks. – Israel planning massive ground invasion of Lebanon, officials say
(Barak Ravid, Marc Caputo – Axios) In a phone call with President Trump this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed moving Iran’s enriched uranium to Russia as part of a deal to end the war. Trump turned him down, sources tell Axios. Securing Iran’s 450 kilograms of 60%-enriched uranium — convertible to weapons grade within weeks, and enough for more than 10 nuclear bombs — is one of the U.S. and Israel’s key war objectives. – Scoop: Trump rejected Putin offer to move Iran’s uranium to Russia
(Chuck McCutcheon – Axios) President Trump on Friday invoked a Cold War-era law in a bid to boost oil production off Southern California’s coast and meet demand in the wake of the Iran war. The president’s signing of an executive order allowing use of the Defense Production Act shows he’s trying to employ a variety of tools to try to tamp down the oil price shocks set off by the war. It also sets up another confrontation with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), a potential 2028 presidential candidate and one of Trump’s most persistent critics. – Trump turns to California offshore oil to help with Iran war
(RFE/RL) US President Donald Trump said American forces have “totally obliterated” military sites on Iran’s strategic Kharg Island in “one of the most powerful bombing raids” in Middle East history and he said the US Navy would soon begin escorting vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. “Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island,” Trump wrote on social media. “Our Weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the World has ever known but, for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island,” he added. – Trump Says US Blasts Kharg Island, Vows Navy Escorts ‘Will Happen Soon’ In Strait
(Ray Furlong – RFE/RL) As the US-Israeli war with Iran continues, a second front against Hezbollah has led to the displacement of some 800,000 people fleeing deadly Israeli air strikes in Lebanon, while a succession of rocket and drone attacks has rained down on Israel. Hezbollah, regarded as a terrorist organization by both Israel and the United States, is Iran’s strongest remaining proxy on Israel’s borders. It attacked Israel on March 2, after Israel began air strikes on Iran on February 28. The response by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been massive — and the conflict with Hezbollah is an integral part of Israel’s wider war against Iran itself. “The campaign against Iran was meant to deal with our very existence in the region, and Hezbollah is part of that,” Sarit Zehavi, head of Alma, a think tank based in northern Israel, told RFE/RL on March 13. “We are under constant attacks 24/7 here.” – Israel’s Second War: The Fight Against Iran’s Proxy, Hezbollah
Pakistan/Afghanistan/China
(Daud Khattak – RFE/RL) Fresh Pakistani jet and drone strikes targeting Kabul and the Kandahar, Paktika, and Paktia provinces in Afghanistan have cast a shadow over China’s shuttle-diplomacy efforts to restore peace between Pakistan and the Taliban. There has been no official confirmation from the Pakistani government, but Taliban authorities say four civilians were killed and 15 injured in the strikes on the morning of March 13. A Taliban source told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal that an oil depot was also hit in the latest air strikes. The Afghan Taliban responded with drone strikes in the northwestern Pakistani city of Kohat on March 13, injuring two civilians, sources told Radio Mashaal. The Afghan Taliban said that it hit a Pakistani military base in Kohat, a garrison town in Pakistan’s northwest near the Afghan border. – Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Strikes Undermine China’s Diplomatic Push For Peace
Russia/Ukraine
(RFE/RL) Kyiv has warned that a move by the United States to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian oil to stabilize the global energy markets amid its military campaign against Iran could add around $10 billion to the Kremlin’s war chest to use against Ukraine. On March 13, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products that are currently stranded at sea. The move allows Russian products loaded onto vessels by March 12 to be shipped within the next month and is aimed at boosting supply to keep market prices low amid what Bessent described as “threat and instability posed by the terrorist Iranian regime”. “This single easing by the US could provide Russia with around $10 billion for the war. It certainly does not help peace,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a joint press conference on March 13 with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. – Ukraine Warns US Easing Of Russian Oil Sanctions Will Boost Moscow’s War Chest
(Alex Raufoglu – RFE/RL) Efforts to negotiate an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine have slowed to a crawl as the United States focuses on a widening conflict with Iran, leaving Ukrainians and their allies weighing what comes next for diplomacy — and the battlefield. Both Kyiv and Moscow confirmed on March 12 that another round of trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United States has been postponed. The discussions — already held three times this year to discuss territorial questions and security guarantees following a potential cease-fire — had been expected to resume in early March, according to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that scheduling the negotiations has become difficult because it is unclear when US officials will be able to participate. – Ukraine Peace Talks Appear Paused Amid Middle East Conflict. What Happens Next?
