War in Iran/Middle East/Gulf and beyond
(Al Arabiya) The UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday condemned Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors, calling for full and swift “reparation” to all victims of its strikes. The 47-member council backed a resolution brought by the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Jordan condemning Tehran’s actions aimed at closing the Strait of Hormuz, and demanding Iran immediately “cease all unprovoked attacks.” – UN rights council condemns Iran strikes on Gulf states
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) The Pentagon said on Wednesday it had reached framework agreements with BAE, Lockheed and Honeywell to boost production of defense systems and munitions as part of its shift to “wartime footing.” – Pentagon says it will ramp up war supplies with defense companies
(AFP/Al Arabiya) The Israeli military said Wednesday it had struck a submarine development facility in Isfahan, a day after its air force carried out a wave of strikes on the central Iran city. “As part of the strikes, the IDF, guided by Israeli navy intelligence, targeted the Iranian terror regime’s Underwater Research Centre in Isfahan,” the military said. – Israel army says struck Iran’s submarine development site in Isfahan
(Al Arabiya) The Lebanese army said on Wednesday that the missile debris that fell a day earlier over multiple areas in the country was identified to be from an Iranian-made ballistic missile. The army said in a post on X that the missile was not likely targeting Lebanon, suggesting that it might have exploded on Tuesday due to a malfunction or an interception. It identified the missile as a guided ballistic missile of the Iranian-made “Qadr-110” type. – Missile debris that fell on Lebanon identified as Iranian-made: Lebanese army
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Turkey “is playing a role passing messages” between Iran and the US to encourage de-escalation and direct negotiations, Harun Armagan, vice chair of foreign affairs for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, told Reuters on Wednesday. – Turkey conveying messages between Iran-US, ruling party official says
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday welcomed US President Donald Trump’s pursuit of negotiations to end the war with Iran and said he hoped the talks would be given a chance to succeed. – German foreign minister hopes Iran peace talks given chance to work
(Al Arabiya) Lebanon is being drawn into an unwanted conflict, the UK Defense Senior Advisor to the Middle East and North Africa (DSAME) said on Tuesday at the end of his two-day visit to the country. “The people of Lebanon are once again being drawn into a conflict they do not want, and which is not in their interests,” Vice Admiral Edward Ahlgren said. “We will continue to support the Lebanese Armed Forces as the sole legitimate defender of Lebanon and the Lebanese Government to assume full responsibility for security.” – UK Vice Admiral says Lebanon ‘being drawn into’ unwanted conflict
(Zachary Basu – Axios) An epidemic of suspicious trading has emerged around President Trump’s most consequential decisions — each time, just minutes or hours before he rattles global markets, according to exchange data. As the Iran war sends prices soaring for ordinary Americans, a select few appear to be profiting in plain sight. It’s precisely the kind of alleged corruption Trump built his political career railing against. Democrats, favored to win the House in November, already are laying the groundwork for investigations into whether insiders are trading on Trump’s market-moving decisions. – Mysterious trading patterns follow Trump into war
(Osmond Chiaand, Naomi Rainey – BBC) Oil prices have fallen after US President Donald Trump said negotiations to end the war were progressing, while Iran said “non-hostile” vessels could pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude fell by 5% to just under $100 (£74.62) a barrel on Wednesday. Trump said on Tuesday that talks to end the war were happening “now” and that the people the US were in discussions with “want to make a deal so badly” – a claim disputed by Iranian officials. Tehran officials dismissed claims of such talks as “fake news”, with a Foreign Ministry spokesman saying on Tuesday that “no one can trust US diplomacy.” – Oil price falls as Trump talks up Iran peace negotiations
China/Iran/Russia
(Reid Standish – RFE/RL) The war in Iran and the resulting energy shock could revive China’s interest in a long-stalled pipeline to import Russian gas, analysts told RFE/RL, potentially reshaping Beijing’s energy strategy. As countries are facing an energy crisis after Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz, halting oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows from the Gulf, Beijing is grappling with the potential loss of discounted Iranian oil and the risk of prolonged market disruption, prompting a rethink of its reliance on a chokepoint that carries roughly 40 percent of its oil and 30 percent of its LNG imports. Those pressures could rekindle talks over the Power of Siberia-2 gas project — a 2,600-kilometer pipeline that would bring gas from Russia’s northern Yamal Peninsula to China via eastern Mongolia — as Beijing reassesses its reliance on seaborne energy. “It definitely keeps Power of Siberia-2 on the negotiating table,” Erica Downs, a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, told RFE/RL. “With supplies from Qatar disrupted, China’s preference for overland natural gas imports is likely to increase.” – Will Iran War Give Green Light To Russia’s Power Of Siberia-2 Pipeline?
Ghana
(Wedaeli Chibelushi – BBC) Slavery was the “most horrendous crime that took place in the history of mankind”, Ghana’s foreign minister has told the BBC ahead of a landmark vote at the UN General Assembly. Member states are set to vote on a resolution – led by Ghana – to recognise the transatlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity”. The proposal urges UN member states to consider apologising for the slave trade and contributing to a reparations fund. The resolution is likely to face resistance, as states like the UK have long rejected paying reparations, saying today’s institutions cannot be held responsible for past wrongs. – Ghana demands compensation for slavery in landmark UN General Assembly vote
Israel/Palestine/West Bank
(Yolande Knell – BBC) “This assault wasn’t just meant to burn the houses but also to kill – to kill women and children,” says Barhan Omar, standing in the charred ruins of his family’s large villa, which Israeli settlers attacked on Sunday. “They came in big numbers. This was organised terrorism,” he tells me, fighting back tears. “What’s terrifying is that you’re sitting in your house with your children, then suddenly you come under fire”. The Palestinian bank manager says settlers shot at his home in Deir al-Hatab, near Nablus, as well as setting it alight, and that he and his children escaped only by hiding on their roof. – ‘There’s no safety anymore’: Palestinians warn of expanding settler violence in West Bank
Russia/Ukraine
(RFE/RL) Ukraine launched hundreds of drones at Russian targets early on March 25, hitting a major port in a spike in fighting as peace talks appear to stall despite an attempt by Kyiv to revive them in Florida last weekend. According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, nearly 400 Ukrainian drones were launched at more than 10 Russian regions and the annexed Crimean Peninsula, in what many said was the single largest assault attempt by Ukraine since the war broke out just over four years ago. The Ukrainian barrage, which came a day after more than 500 Russian drones and missiles targeted regions across Ukraine, hit one of Russia’s largest petroleum export outlets. According to Leningrad regional Governor Aleksander Drozdenko, Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga caught fire as a result of the attack. – Ukraine Hits Russia’s Ports Again, As Fighting Intensifies Amid Stalled Peace Talks
Ukraine/US
(Alex Raufoglu – RFE/RL) As Iranian drone and missile attacks test American defenses in the Middle East, a visiting Ukrainian delegation says the United States is now facing a battlefield reality Kyiv has been adapting to since the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion. “The mass and scale attack of cheap drones…really changes how systems perform,” Maryna Hrytsenko, executive director of the Kyiv-based Snake Island Institute, told RFE/RL in an interview during a visit to Washington on March 24. Her warning comes as Ukrainian officials seek to translate frontline experience into strategic lessons for Western partners — arguing that Ukraine’s war has become a real-world stress test for modern air defense. At the center of that message is a stark economic imbalance. Advanced systems like the Patriot air defense system remain highly effective but using them against waves of low-cost drones is unsustainable over time. “We understood for a very long time that it’s not cost-effective to use $4.5 million missiles for Patriots to shoot down a $500,000 Shahed drone,” Hrytsenko said. – As Iran Conflict Escalates, Ukraine Tells US: We’ve Seen This Before
US
(Andrew Solender – Axios) Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told Attorney General Pam Bondi in a letter Tuesday that her department provided him with a “damning” memo containing new allegations about President Trump’s handling of classified documents when he was out of office. The House Judiciary Committee ranking member is using the disclosures to place renewed scrutiny on the classified documents case, which was dropped after Trump returned to office last year. Raskin says among the allegations are that Trump possessed documents that only six people in the U.S. government had access to, showed off a classified map to passengers on his private plane and had files relevant to his business interests. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the classified documents case. – Raskin says DOJ gave him “damning” memo on Trump classified docs case
(Alex Raufoglu – RFE/RL) US lawmakers are raising concerns after the Trump administration took additional steps to allow more Russian oil shipments to reach global markets despite existing sanctions. Democrats and Republicans alike are demanding answers after the Treasury Department last week broadened a temporary policy allowing the sale and delivery of Russian crude that had already been loaded onto tankers, effectively loosening enforcement of sanctions at a sensitive moment in Moscow’s war against Ukraine. The step — expanded in a follow-up Treasury action days later that extended and clarified the authorization for those shipments to be offloaded through April — came as global oil markets were rattled by the conflict with Iran, a context administration officials say required short-term flexibility to prevent price spikes. – Bipartisan Backlash Grows As Trump Administration Expands Russian Sanctions Relief
