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US has no choice but to retreat from Iranian borders: Top commander

Press TV – March 29, 2026

A senior Iranian military commander says the armed forces’ crushing strikes against US military assets will leave Washington with no choice but to withdraw its forces from Iran’s borders.

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, Brigadier General Seyyed Majid Mousavi, said in a post on X that Iranian forces will continue to paralyze US radar networks and logistics while inflicting casualties on their personnel across the region.

“Iran’s intelligence superiority and precision strikes will leave the US with no alternative but to retreat from Iranian borders,” Mousavi said.

The commander noted that “the wreckage of AWACS, aerial refuelers, and demolished hangars speaks for itself.”

Mousavi also vowed that the country’s armed forces will soon add “more high-value targets to this list.”

US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering “limited ground operations” on Iranian soil. Iranian officials have warned that such a move will only lead to further casualties among American troops.

Iranian armed forces have launched 86 waves of retaliatory strikes against Israeli and US assets across the region, causing casualties and billions of dollars in damages.

Notably, a US Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was struck and damaged during a March 27 missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, this specific attack also injured more than 10 service members and damaged several aerial refueling tankers.

Military analysts describe the loss of these “flying radars” as a “big deal” that has significantly crippled Washington’s ability to manage the battlespace in the Persian Gulf.

Beyond the AWACS and tankers, Iran’s attacks have damaged or destroyed radar systems, a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system and Reaper drones in attacks on US bases in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.

Reports have also suggested that the US and its regional allies are “burning through” their supply of Tomahawk and interceptor missiles.

Since the war began on February 28, the Pentagon has already confirmed at least 13 US troops killed and roughly 200 wounded.

March 29, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , | Comments Off on US has no choice but to retreat from Iranian borders: Top commander

Israel’s Iran Strategy Uses US Military & Gulf States as Its Pawns

By Robert Inlakesh | Palestine Chronicle | March 29, 2026

While most honest analysts will conclude that the decision made by the White House came as a result of pressure from the Israelis or that this is a war that is being fought for Tel Aviv’s interests, many fail to see any clear strategy at play.

In order to understand the strategy behind the US-Israeli assault on the Islamic Republic, you must first remove the notion that the United States is in the driving seat to any significant extent.

Almost immediately after the 12-Day War in June of 2025, the Israeli leadership was already preparing for the next round. On July 7, Axios News even reported that officials in Tel Aviv believed that US President Trump would give them another green light to attack.

Meanwhile, the most influential Zionist think tanks in Washington DC, the likes of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), were openly discussing the necessity of a new round of confrontations.

These think tanks facilitated discussions and published pieces in which they made it clear that while the next round was inevitable, it had to be the last round, and that the US’s involvement would be important in deciding outcomes.

Understanding the Israeli Strategy

It is no coincidence that senior Israeli officials, all the way from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to opposition leader Yair Lapid, have all recently publicly endorsed the “Greater Israel Project”.

This is not simply posturing, this is their goal. But how does this fit into the Iran war? Well, it will begin to make sense when the context is all provided.

Firstly, the Greater Israel Project’s strategy is grounded in an academic article published by a former Israeli intelligence officer and journalist, Oded Yinon. The plan did not advocate for the physical expansion of the Israeli State’s borders over every nation between the Euphrates River and the River Nile, but instead opted for an approach that would transform Israel into a regional empire.

In order to achieve this goal of a “Greater Israel”, it would first necessitate the collapse of all the region’s sovereign States, which would instead be broken up into warring sectarian and ethno-regimes.

The purpose of achieving the disintegration of the surrounding nations is a simple concept to understand. If they are all divided, economically weak, and lack the military capabilities to stand up to Israel, it makes it easy for the Israelis to control them.

Take, for example, the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq, or the semi-autonomous zone in southern Syria’s Sweida Province, now carved out by Israeli-backed separatists.

Syria and Iraq are perfect examples of what happens when a nation is torn apart and sectarianism, or ethno-supremacist ideologies, are spread through deliberate propaganda campaigns.

Although Secular Arab Nationalism failed in the region, the chief proponent of it, former Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser, was indeed correct in his analysis as to why it was a net positive for the region.

A united Arab World would undoubtedly be far stronger than the simple modern nation-states of the region, whose borders were drawn up by European colonial powers.

For the Israelis, they had always sought to impose this long-term solution upon West Asia, of a “Greater Israel”, but were previously seeking to do it in a slow and methodical way, opposed to a ruthlessly violent one.

Part of this way of thinking was centered around the idea that Israel maintained a “deterrence capacity”, meaning that their military power was capable of deterring any significant strategic threat from rising against it.

On October 7, 2023, the Qassam Brigades of Hamas crippled this strategy and debunked the notion of their “deterrence capacity”. A few thousand Palestinian fighters managed to overcome the most militarily advanced army in the region, bursting through the gates of their concentration camp, despite the world’s most advanced surveillance systems being present in the area.

The Palestinian groups themselves appear to have been genuinely surprised by how easily they were capable of achieving their goals. Not only did they inflict a blow on the Israeli military and seize captives, but they also managed to collapse the entire Israeli southern command, all with light weapons.

To Israel, the message was clear: The Arab populations of Jordan and Egypt had taken to the streets, some even pouring across the Jordanian border. The weakest link in the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance had dealt the Israeli military its most embarrassing defeat. Deterrence was dead, and former Secretary General of Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, was proven correct: “Israel is weaker than a spider’s web”.

The decision to commit genocide was therefore ordered. Israel believed it had to show the Arab World what it was truly capable of, as a means of asserting its control. In the cases of the Arab populations in Jordan, Egypt, and even the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, the fear tactics appeared to have worked. Then they made an irreversible mistake.

In September 2024, they assassinated Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, a move that completely changed the thinking of Iran and its allies. Now, the message had been received loud and clear; preparations for the last war had to be made. Up until then, the Axis of Resistance had been attempting to close the chapter of the Gaza genocide; now, they understood that destroying Gaza wasn’t the end goal of Israel.

Israel had decided it would accelerate its national project of gradual expansion, meaning that the Islamic Republic of Iran had to be deposed. A failure to overthrow the Iranian government would represent an existential threat to this project.

Israel’s Iran War Strategy

As I have been writing in the Palestine Chronicle for the past eight months, the only viable strategy that the Israelis could hope to use, in order to see any gains, is one where Iran’s civilian infrastructure is the primary target.

That means: taking out power stations, desalination plants along with other key water facilities – less than 3% of Iran’s water needs come from desalination – while blowing up oil and gas facilities, bombing factories, destroying agricultural lands, inflicting costly environmental catastrophes, and attempting to cripple the Iranian State’s ability to function. In other words, a policy that replicates the Gaza model on a much wider scale, impacting a nation of 92 million people.

Tel Aviv’s goal here is a long-term regime change operation, one that will happen gradually following the war itself. Israel knows that destroying Iran’s military capabilities was never going to be possible. Yes, they may have some successes, but totally crippling their missile and drone programs through strikes alone won’t work.

Therefore, they seek to try and force Tehran to expend a large portion of its missile arsenal, making it more difficult for them to start a new war in the near future following the conflict’s conclusion.

If you look at Syria, for example, the government of Bashar al-Assad did not collapse during the war. Instead, the Syrian State slowly eroded from the inside, due to its isolation and the US-EU’s maximum pressure sanctions.

In the end, the Syrian State was largely bought out and was so corrupt that there was little left. When Ahmed al-Shara’a marched into Aleppo and then Damascus, he did so without any fight, although there were some exceptions where a few units resisted.

Now, Damascus is open for Israeli citizens, the leadership in Syria meets with Israeli officials face-to-face, and has even set up a joint normalizing mechanism between both sides. Therefore, using the long game strategy against Iran makes the most sense in Israel’s strategic thinking.

Then there comes the convenient side effect of the strategy, which begins to explain how the US leadership is not in the driver’s seat at all. That being the weakening of the Persian Gulf Arab nations.

Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are experiencing untold economic devastation as a result of this war. The reason for this, evidently, is that they all host US bases and have permitted a large presence of American military and intelligence personnel inside their countries.

Oman, and to a lesser extent Qatar, have been the only Gulf nations that appear to be pushing back against the true culprits in this war, the Israelis and US. Muscat in particular has blasted the “security arrangements” in the region and condemned normalising efforts with Tel Aviv, pointing their fingers in the right direction.

Bahrain and especially the UAE have gone in the opposite direction. They are only increasing their pro-Israeli and anti-Iran rhetoric, which comes as little surprise given that both have normalized relations with the Zionists. Riyadh, on the other hand, appears to be on a separate trajectory, with its rhetoric being diplomatic, while its actions suggest it is hostile towards Iran.

The Israelis, despite their efforts to normalize ties with the Gulf States, do not want strong nations to exist anywhere in West Asia under their accelerationist approach to achieving an Israel Empire. This appears to be something that the leadership in Abu Dhabi and Manama have not proven intelligent enough to figure out.

That is why the Israeli leadership had started to announce their next targets, following Iran, were the leaderships in Turkiye and even Pakistan. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not a threat in the way that Iran is, but he does command one of the most powerful military forces in the region and rules over a developing economy, working towards transforming itself into a key global trade hub.

Alone, the idea that Turkiye would begin to build an economic or defence alliance with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Egypt, poses a direct threat to the Greater Israel Project. In Syria, we see a similar thing; although Ankara does not present a clear and present military challenge to the Israelis as a result of its influence in Damascus, it acts as a potential competitor, a nation that may seek to curtail Israeli expansionist plots.

The GCC countries, which are in alliance with one another, maintain immense economic power. As we see today, if the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted, the entire world is impacted. Back in 1973, these Persian Gulf Arab States exercised that power temporarily. One thing to keep in mind with the Israelis is that they never forget history and are infamous for holding grudges.

So, the dismantlement of the Gulf Arab nations’ economies, or at the very least, the weakening of these countries, is viewed as a positive development in Tel Aviv. As for the US, this war is similarly disastrous, but Israel fails to care less.

This war has destroyed US power projection, making it open to its top chosen adversaries – Russia and China – in a number of other arenas. Donald Trump personally has business ties in the Gulf, which don’t benefit from this conflict, so even on a personal level, it isn’t exactly a victory. The entire Western World, allying itself with the US and Israel, is suffering economically, and as a result, this will mean social unrest is possible, even if it takes time to come to fruition.

An embarrassment has already been dealt to the US military, which is being made to look like a paper tiger, as Mao Zedong once called it. Its future in the Gulf region may have just been ruined, along with those billions, or trillions as Trump believes, of investments – from Gulf States – may no longer materialize. The entire White House Security Doctrine, published last year, has been torn up and set on fire.

In terms of soldier casualties, the Trump administration is evidently hiding the true figure, but it goes without saying that this isn’t good news. NATO has been forced to flee Iraq. The US has even lifted sanctions on Moscow and a limited number of sanctions on Iranian oil. There is simply nothing that the US stands to gain from this war, even if it were to somehow pull off a victory; at this point, it would prove pyrrhic.

With all of this being said, what the Israelis are doing is making a massive gamble. A series of risks that appear so far to be backfiring, as Tehran appears to have pre-empted the conspiracies set against it. The final results of the war are not yet in, but the odds appear to be on the side of Iran.

– Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.

March 29, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Israel’s Iran Strategy Uses US Military & Gulf States as Its Pawns

Iran: Trump wanted regime change, now just begging for Hormuz to open

Al Mayadeen | March 29, 2026

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday, marking the 30th day of Iranian national defense against the US-Israeli aggression, that the US president’s objectives have dramatically shifted since the start of the war on Iran.

“The enemy who claimed to have destroyed our air, naval, and missile forces, and had a plan for the collapse of the Islamic Republic, has now set his goal on reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” Ghalibaf said.

“Reopening a strait that was open before the war has become Trump’s operational dream,” he said mockingly.

Ghalibaf stated that the war on Iran, which has come to be known as the Ramadan War, is now at its most critical moment. He noted that Trump is unable to secure the support of European countries, that energy markets are out of control, and that food inflation is approaching.

The war bites the belligerent

The Parliament Speaker detailed the damage inflicted on US military assets throughout the conflict. “The manifestations of American arrogance, from the F-35 to the aircraft carrier and US regional bases, have suffered major blows,” he said. “Strikes on the Israeli regime have been effective, precise, and foundation-shaking.”

Ghalibaf also highlighted the growing strength of the Resistance Axis across the region.

“Hezbollah in Lebanon, which was constantly threatened with disarmament, is today an important and effective part of the Resistance and has trapped the malignant Israeli regime,” he said.

“The Resistance in Iraq is fighting heroically and has astonished the enemy. Ansarallah in Yemen has breathed new life into the Resistance front and is ready to achieve spectacular surprises.”

“This is the honor and greatness of the Resistance front against the world’s arrogant powers,” Ghalibaf stated. “Trump has been accused worldwide of waging a pointless war and has no answer for his public opinion. The evil of initiating the war has returned to its initiator.”

Here is a background section summarizing the current situation with the Strait of Hormuz, based on the Al Mayadeen article:

The battle for the Strait of Hormuz

Since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas shipments pass, has become a central front in the war on Iran. Iranian authorities have restricted the movement of vessels linked to the US and “Israel” or those supporting, requiring ships to obtain approval before transiting the strategic waterway.

Tehran has made clear that “nonhostile” ships may pass safely if authorized, while the strait remains “closed only to enemies carrying out cowardly aggression against Iran,” as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi put it. The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps has turned back multiple container ships attempting to transit without authorization.

Iran’s Parliament is now advancing legislation to impose formal tolls on vessels passing through the strait, a move lawmakers say is designed to assert Tehran’s “sovereignty, control and oversight” over the passage, much like the model applied by Turkey in the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. The toll system would build on temporary fees applied since late February.

US President Donald Trump has threatened an escalation in the aggression against Iran’s power infrastructure if the strait remains closed, while US attempts to organize international naval escorts to bypass Iran’s control over the strait have so far failed.

The new framework signals Tehran’s intent to use its control over its waterway to regulate access systematically, rather than relying on ad hoc measures, while simultaneously sending a message to the US and “Israel” about the country’s ability to control this key energy corridor.

March 29, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Iran: Trump wanted regime change, now just begging for Hormuz to open

US-Israeli war on Iran drives global fertilizer prices up 40%

Al Mayadeen | March 28, 2026

The ongoing war on Iran is driving a sharp rise in global fertilizer prices, exposing how Western-led escalation is reverberating across critical sectors such as agriculture and food production, the German-based Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported on Friday.

According to Philipp Spinne, managing director of the German Raiffeisen Association, mineral fertilizer prices have increased by 30% to 40% since the beginning of the year. He noted that current market conditions are approaching levels seen at the start of the war in Ukraine, indicating mounting pressure on global supply chains. “A situation similar to what happened in February 2022 is recurring,” Spinne said, pointing to the rapid climb in nitrogen fertilizer prices toward previous peaks.

Hormuz disruptions

The surge is closely tied to disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a significant share of global fertilizer trade passes, including roughly one-third of globally traded urea and about 20% of ammonia. Tehran’s response to the US-Israeli aggression has prompted restrictions on maritime flows, tightening supply and pushing energy prices higher, feeding directly into production costs.

Despite this, the immediate impact on European consumers remains limited. Many farmers had already secured their fertilizer supplies before the outbreak of the war. According to German industry estimates, around 80% of the required quantities for the entire spring season are already held in cooperative storage, while roughly 50% are already in the hands of farmers. However, industry representatives warn that a prolonged war will inevitably translate into higher production costs, which are expected to pass through to food prices over time.

A spokesperson for the Bavarian Farmers’ Association noted that while availability is currently manageable, farms that did not secure supplies early are now facing significant cost burdens. At the same time, relatively weak grain prices are compounding the pressure, squeezing margins and weighing on farm liquidity.

Rising fertilizer costs

Energy costs remain the central driver. Gas accounts for between 80% and 90% of the cost of producing ammonia and nitrogen fertilizers, meaning that fluctuations in energy markets, intensified by the war, directly affect agricultural inputs. Industry representatives added that the sharp rise in gas prices in Western Europe during the Ukraine war had already weakened the region’s chemical sector, a trend now deepening.

As prices rise, farmers may reduce fertilizer use, a shift that could lead to lower yields and tighter food supplies globally. The structural importance of fertilizers to global food systems reflects the scale of the risk: nearly half of the world’s population depends on crops grown using mineral fertilizers, while yields today are roughly double those of the early 20th century due to their use. Any sustained disruption, therefore, carries long-term implications for food security.

Although Europe produces a large share of its own fertilizers, covering roughly three-quarters of its nitrogen needs domestically and slightly more in the case of potash, it remains indirectly exposed through rising gas and LNG prices. While Europe has for years imported little fertilizer directly from conflict-affected regions, indirect pressures through energy markets continue to impact production costs.

Europe under pressure

At the policy level, European actors are increasingly turning to protectionist measures, including tariffs on Russian fertilizers, in an effort to shield domestic markets and reduce external dependency. Industry groups have also called for higher tariffs on Russian potash and for strengthening local production capacity. At the same time, Russia has introduced its own export restrictions to protect internal supply, further tightening global availability.

For now, German farmers remain partially insulated, but those forced to purchase at current prices are facing significantly higher costs, reinforcing concerns that the economic strain on agriculture will deepen if the war persists.

March 28, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Wars for Israel | , , , | Comments Off on US-Israeli war on Iran drives global fertilizer prices up 40%

Yemen joins fight against US, Israel by firing missiles at occupied territories

Al Mayadeen | March 28, 2026

Yemen’s Armed Forces have carried out their first military operation since announcing readiness for direct military intervention in the ongoing US-Israeli war on the Axis of Resistance, targeting military sites in southern occupied Palestine with a salvo of ballistic missiles.

Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree confirmed the operation on Saturday, stating that ballistic missiles struck “sensitive military objectives belonging to the Israeli enemy in southern occupied Palestine.”

Saree said the operation coincided with ongoing resistance operations by fighters in Iran and Lebanon, stressing that it “successfully achieved its intended objectives.”

He affirmed that operations would continue “until the declared goals are met and until the aggression ceases across all fronts of the resistance.”

Earlier this morning, Israeli media had reported missiles launched from Yemen toward the southern occupied territories, with sirens sounding in Eilat, the Wadi Araba region, and al-Naqab.

Saree’s warning

The strike follows a Friday warning from Saree that the Yemeni Armed Forces were prepared for direct military intervention should certain red lines be crossed.

He named three specific triggers: the formation of additional alliances alongside the US and “Israel” against Iran or Axis of Resistance states; the use of the Red Sea as a platform for hostile military operations against Iran or any Muslim country; and the continued escalation of the US-Israeli aggression.

Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul Malik al-Houthi had warned Thursday that the US and “Israel” are advancing a “scheme to reshape the Middle East and establish the so-called Greater Israel,” stressing that Yemen is “not neutral” but stands with the Islamic nation.

Sayyed al-Houthi affirmed that any developments requiring a military response would be met with full readiness, as in previous rounds, while reiterating that Yemen’s military activity targets only US and Israeli objectives, not Muslim-majority states or civilian populations.

March 28, 2026 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on Yemen joins fight against US, Israel by firing missiles at occupied territories

Seizing the Kharg: Washington’s path to defeat in the Persian Gulf

By Anis Raiss | The Cradle | March 27, 2026

Four weeks of US-Israeli war on Iran – and the stakes have climbed far higher than Washington anticipated. US President Donald Trump threatened on Truth Social to “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened within 48 hours.

The deadline passed. He blinked and, for the second time, postponed his own ultimatum, recasting it as ‘productive conversations.’ Tehran denied any talks and insisted the reversal was driven by “fear of Iran’s response.”

The US-Israeli air campaign was supposed to break Iran. It didn’t. Now the hawks are pushing for boots on the ground. But the ground war being floated does not simply risk American lives on an island 15 miles (around 24 kilometers) off Iran’s coast. It threatens the entire US military architecture in the Persian Gulf – the bases, the alliances, and the energy infrastructure that has underwritten American dominance in West Asia for decades.

In an interview with NBC News, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in response to a question about a possible ground invasion by the US, delivered words the Pentagon had no answer for: “We are waiting for them,” which became a meme in the process. The bluff has been called. The question now is whether showing Washington’s hand collapses the entire table.

Raising the stakes with an empty hand

The ground invasion discourse is no longer hypothetical. Pentagon officials have submitted detailed preparation requests for deploying ground forces. Three Marine amphibious assault groups are converging on the Persian Gulf: the USS Tripoli carrying the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit from Japan, the USS Boxer with the 11th MEU from California, and roughly 1,500 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.

By the time all units arrive, between 6,000 and 8,000 US ground troops will be within striking distance of Iran. But the composition of these forces exposes the gap between rhetoric and reality. Military analyst Ruben Stewart noted that what is being deployed is “consistent with discrete, time-limited operations, not a sustained ground campaign.”

At the same time, Israel’s own military is showing signs of strain. Chief of staff Eyal Zamir warned on 25 March that the army is “going to collapse in on itself,” citing an eroding reserve force and a deepening manpower crisis as wars stretch from Gaza to Lebanon and now Iran.

Washington is pushing more chips to the center of the table – but the hand behind them remains weak. The scenarios now circulating form an escalation ladder where each rung risks pulling the US deeper into a fight it is structurally unprepared to sustain.

Pickaxe Mountain and the raid that takes too long 

The most politically attractive option is a covert raid on Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile – believed to be around 400 kilograms enriched to roughly 60 percent, possibly stored near Isfahan or deep inside Pickaxe Mountain.

But the problem is one Sun Tzu identified centuries ago: speed is the essence of war – yet this mission demands the opposite. Extracting nuclear material requires troops to remain on-site long enough for Iranian forces to respond.

Former CENTCOM commander General Joseph Votel described such operations as “feasible,” but issued a clear warning: “You’re going to have to take care of them, resupply them, medevac them. And that requires a logistical tail, and at some point that tail has to be protected as well.”

Washington still carries the scar of Operation Eagle Claw – the failed 1980 hostage rescue that collapsed in the Iranian desert and helped end Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

Kharg Island: The trap disguised as a shortcut

If covert raids carry too much risk for too little certainty, the next option on the table is a limited territorial seizure – and Washington’s hawks have converged on a single target: Kharg Island.

An eight-square-mile (around 20.7 square kilometers) coral outcrop in the northern Persian Gulf, Kharg processes roughly 90 percent of Iran’s crude exports. US Senator Lindsey Graham urged Trump to “take Kharg Island,” while retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg described himself as a “big believer in boots on the ground” there.

The logic sounds surgical: seize Iran’s economic lifeline and force Tehran to the table. But it collapses under even basic scrutiny. Kharg sits just 15 miles (around 24 kilometers) off the Iranian mainland – well within range of coastal missile batteries, drones, rockets, and artillery. Any US force stationed there would face “near-constant bombardment.”

Retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery put it bluntly: “If we seize Kharg Island, they’re going to turn off the spigot on the other end. It’s not like we control their oil production.”

Sun Tzu warned that there is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare. Modern analyses reach the same conclusion. Think tank assessments warn that Kharg is a textbook case of mission creep, pulling US forces step by step toward a wider ground war.

The war Iran has prepared for

What Washington’s hawks consistently overlook is that Iran has spent decades preparing for precisely this scenario – not to match US firepower, but to make any ground war prohibitively costly.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is divided into 31 autonomous ground divisions, each capable of operating independently if central command is disrupted.

When strikes killed the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, intelligence minister Esmail Khatib, and Basij chief Gholamreza Soleimani, the military apparatus continued launching missiles, closing the Strait of Hormuz, and fighting. A command structure designed to survive decapitation appears to be doing exactly that.

At sea, Iran’s naval doctrine relies on asymmetric warfare. Its reported arsenal: hundreds of fast attack craft, coastal missile batteries, an estimated 5,000 naval mines, over 1,000 unmanned suicide vessels, and Ghadir-class midget submarines built for the Gulf’s shallow waters. The Persian Gulf is not an open ocean. It is a corridor shaped by geography and fortified by doctrine – designed to swallow conventional naval power.

On land, the scale alone is decisive. Iran is four times the size of Iraq, with a population exceeding 90 million. Estimates suggest that any conventional invasion would require “hundreds of thousands of troops.”

Then there is the Basij paramilitary network, reportedly capable of mobilizing up to a million reservists – and the IRGC’s decades of experience coordinating asymmetric resistance across the region.

The US currently has fewer than 8,000 moving into position. This is not a war Iran needs to win – but one that is designed to make Washington unable to sustain.

Winning Kharg, losing the Gulf

Even if Washington succeeds tactically – seizing Kharg and declaring victory – the strategic consequences are immediate.

Since the war began, Iran has already demonstrated its escalation capacity. Missiles and drones have targeted US-linked infrastructure across Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Energy facilities, airports, and desalination plants have all come under fire.

A seizure of Kharg would likely trigger a far broader response. Iranian officials have explicitly warned of “continuous and relentless attacks” on regional infrastructure if Iranian territory is occupied.

Tehran has also signaled it could expand the conflict to the Bab al-Mandab Strait through allied Ansarallah-aligned forces in Yemen, threatening a second global chokepoint.

Every US position in the Gulf depends on supply lines that run through the very states already under threat. Bahrain hosts the Fifth Fleet. The UAE hosts Al-Dhafra. Kuwait functions as a logistical hub.

As the Stimson Center noted, Gulf states already fear Trump could declare victory and leave them fighting Iran alone.

March 28, 2026 Posted by | Illegal Occupation, Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on Seizing the Kharg: Washington’s path to defeat in the Persian Gulf

US Tells Allies That Ukraine-Bound Arms Could be Sent to Middle East

Sputnik – 27.03.2026

The US has warned that weapons deliveries to Ukraine could be halted as the Pentagon shifts its focus to the Iran war.

The State Department reportedly told European NATO allies that munitions deliveries — especially Patriot surface-to-air missiles — could face disruptions.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised the issue at the G7 foreign ministers meeting on March 27.

NATO members have already voiced concerns that the US could reroute weapons they had bought and paid for to replenish its stockpiles amid the Iran war.

The Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) — under which US allies buy arms from the US for Ukraine—may also face disruption, despite some having “received assurances” from Washington.

March 27, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Comments Off on US Tells Allies That Ukraine-Bound Arms Could be Sent to Middle East

Two Primary Elections for the Soul of ‘America First’

By Alan Mosley | The Libertarian Institute | March 27, 2026

Political slogans are cheap. Governing is not. “America First” is not a bumper-sticker philosophy. It is a testable claim about priorities: How much debt will we pile up, how many wars will we drift into, and how often will elected officials treat Congress as a ceremonial prop rather than a constitutional branch.

Midterm elections are where slogans go to trial. Primaries, especially, are where interests that cannot reliably win a general election try to win the nomination. They do it with money, with media saturation, and with the oldest trick in politics: framing obedience as unity.

This year, two Republican races show the fork in the road. In northern Kentucky, Rep. Thomas Massie is fighting a primary that has become a national vendetta project. In South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham is seeking a fifth term while publicly linking his political identity to a foreign-policy crusade, and treating dissent at home as a moral failing.

If Massie survives and Graham falls, it signals that Republican voters still have room for independence, constitutional friction, and skepticism toward overseas commitments. If Massie loses and Graham wins, it signals the reverse: the slogan becomes a mascot for power, not a restraint on it.

Thomas Massie’s case is straightforward: he acts like Congress matters.

That is not a rhetorical compliment. It is a job description. Legislators are not hired to be studio analysts for executive decision-making after the fact. They are elected to vote, to demand records, and to treat spending as something more than a press release. Above all, they are meant to represent the voters of their district.

Massie has built a voting record that major conservative scorekeepers rate highly. Conservative Review’s Liberty Score gives Massie a 96% A-rating for his consistent conservative record. Club for Growth rates him at 92 for 2024 and 93 lifetime, and labels him a “Defender of Economic Freedom.” These scorecards are not holy writ, but they are a consistent signal: Massie votes against the spending reflex that has turned the federal government into a debt machine.

Recent actions match that pattern. Federal records show Massie raised about $2.45 million in 2025, with roughly $840,000 coming in unitemized contributions, the classic signature of small-dollar fundraising rather than a donor class writing checks in neat, report-friendly chunks. He also voted against President Donald Trump’s marquee tax-and-spending package, a bill that passed the House by a single vote, 215–214.

Then there is the achievement that infuriates people who prefer secrecy to law. Massie used a discharge petition process to force a House vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed 427–1. He and Senate partners later pressed the Justice Department to brief lawmakers on implementation of that law. In plain English, he pushed Congress to demand documents from the executive branch. That is not radical. That is what should come standard for any elected official: constitutional oversight.

Massie’s opponent is Ed Gallrein, a Trump-endorsed challenger who leans into being the president’s chosen foil for Massie and says he is fighting for “the America First agenda.”

The Trump factor is not ambiguous. Reuters reported that Trump endorsed Gallrein as Massie continued pressing for release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, and as Massie criticized the administration’s handling of that issue. CBS reported Trump has crusaded against Massie and predicted he would be remembered as the “WORST Republican Congressman” in history.

But the most important part of the Gallrein candidacy is not biography. It is the machinery behind him.

By March 11, outside groups had already spent more than $5 million aiming to unseat Massie in the May primary. A super PAC linked to the Republican Jewish Coalition directed more than $2.8 million into the contest since late February, with the group “MAGA KY” spending around $2.7 million this cycle. Those numbers matter because they establish what this contest is: a safe-seat nomination being nationalized by outside spenders.

What is the glue holding this coalition together? Foreign policy, especially Israel-related aid and posture.

Much like the antiwar congressional hero Dr. Ron Paul before him, Massie has taken lonely stands, including voting against funding tied to Israel’s Iron Dome system. That is not a minor detail. It explains why “America First” branding is being used to sell a campaign that is bankrolled by groups whose defining priority is unwavering support for Israel-focused policy.

Long before the current burst of spending, reporting showed that pro-Israel megadonors were flowing money toward the anti-Massie effort. Donors backing Israel were funneling money to denounce Massie with ad buys in his district, and identified major donors associated with that effort. Senior Republicans expected the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to target Massie ahead of the 2026 primary, as they had done the same in prior spending runs against him.

The result is a familiar Washington pattern where a member votes against the foreign-policy consensus, and the donor class tries to end his career in a low-turnout election where ads can substitute for local affection.

A movement that cannot tolerate this kind of internal dissent is not a movement. It is a hierarchy.

Where Massie’s story is conflict with the foreign-policy consensus, Lindsey Graham’s story is partnership with it.

Graham filed for reelection in March with a campaign operation that looks financially impregnable. Federal Election Commission data show $19.6 million in total receipts through the end of 2025 and $13.4 million cash on hand. In a state where incumbency already carries heavy weight, that kind of bankroll makes a primary challenger’s job close to impossible.

But money is not the core issue. The issue is what Graham says he is for.

In an Associated Press report from March 16, 2026, Graham described the war posture toward Iran with blunt certainty: “We’re crushing them.” Graham was also quoted making an Israel-centered argument in which he said Iran would “kill all the Jews, and we’re next,” and then added that he would put his efforts to ensure the military has what it needs to win “ahead of anybody in the United States Senate.” That is not a senator describing prudence. That is a senator describing priority.

The rhetorical line that detonated online came from cable news. In remarks reported by Newsweek, Graham said, “I’m not with you, I’m with Israel,” and pledged to be with Israel “to our dying day.” In the same reported segment, he said he was going back to South Carolina to ask people to “send their sons and daughters into the Mid East.”

When a senator tells his own state, in effect, that the dissenters are beneath contempt, and the sacrifice is owed, he is not practicing representation. He is brazenly announcing to the world that his true constituency lies in a foreign nation.

That posture is consistent with Graham’s official communications. On his Senate website in January 2026, Graham praised Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “duo” for the security and prosperity of both countries, described enhanced weapons cooperation with Israel as a potential “21st century ‘Manhattan Project,’” and insisted “failure is not an option.” That is language designed for permanent emergency, not constitutional restraint.

Even AP’s reporting framed Graham as having “everything he could ever want,” including Trump’s ear and the war he has long advocated, while critics compared his posture to a child on Christmas morning. His energy for more war would make even the late John McCain blush.

None of this requires conspiracy theories. American campaign-finance law makes the incentives plain.

Now place AIPAC and allied pro-Israel groups into that structure. FEC data show AIPAC has raised $34.3 million in receipts from January 1, 2025, through February 28, 2026, and disbursed $32.3 million in that period, including over $30.5 million in contributions to other committees. That is not marginal money. It is an industrial operation.

Major outlets have documented how Israel-related outside spending has surged in the 2026 cycle, including efforts in key primaries where advertising often avoids overt mention of Israel while targeting candidates critical of Israel policy. The Washington Post described AIPAC’s role in super PAC spending this cycle and the use of affiliated committees with benign names. When accounting for other associated organizations, upwards of $200 million has been spent on 361 congressional candidates who pledge to support a pro-Israel agenda.

Against that backdrop, the contrast between Massie and Graham becomes obvious.

Massie is punished for crossing the line against an imperial presidency. Graham is rewarded for enforcing it, in public, with contempt for “isolationists,” and with calls for deeper military involvement.

This is why the “America First” label is now contested terrain. A slogan that can be used to sell both constitutional restraint and open-ended war is not a philosophy. It is a marketing asset, and marketing assets are purchased.

Massie’s primary is not simply a question of whether he will hold a House seat. His district is reliably Republican and not expected to be competitive in the general election. The real decision is whether a Republican electorate will allow an independent lawmaker to keep office when national money and presidential ego demand submission.

Graham’s race is not simply a question of whether he will win reelection. It is whether South Carolina Republicans will ratify a posture that treats foreign conflict as a defining purpose, and treats constituents as a manpower pool, rather than citizens with rights and limits on what government may demand.

If “America First” means anything beyond applause, it means the country is not obligated to bankrupt itself, or bleed itself, to prove its virtue to donors, allies, or television audiences. It means wars are debated and authorized by Congress, and that military force is not a lifestyle. It means elected officials remember that “ally” is not a synonym for “master,” and that patriotism is not measured by willingness to sign blank checks.

That is why these two primaries matter as a pair. One man is being targeted for saying no. The other is being rewarded for never saying no, and for mocking those who do.

A party can choose restraint, or it can choose appetite. It cannot choose both and keep its soul intact.

March 27, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on Two Primary Elections for the Soul of ‘America First’

Iran mobilizing one million soldiers to ‘create hell’ for any US ground assault: Report

The Cradle | March 27, 2026

Iran is mobilizing one million soldiers to repel any potential ground invasion launched by the US army against the Islamic Republic, an Iranian military source told Tasnim News Agency on 26 March.

“With the growing speculation about the possibility of a historical folly by the US in launching a ground invasion on the southern front of Iran, a wave of enthusiasm has emerged among Iranian ground fighters to create a historical hell for the Americans on Iranian soil,” the source said.

The source added that “in addition to organizing more than one million fighters for ground combat, in recent days there has been a massive influx of requests from Iranian youth directed towards the centers of Basij, the IRGC, and the Army to also participate in this battle.”

“The US wants to open the Strait of Hormuz with suicide and self-destructive tactics; that’s fine. We are ready for both their suicide strategy to be executed and for the Strait to remain closed,” the source went on to say.

On the same day, Axios reported – citing US officials – that Washington was preparing options for a “final blow” in the Iran war, involving ground forces and massive bombing.

The options include invading Kharg Island, where the majority of Iran’s oil exports are processed.

Others include seizing the island of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb (controlled by Iran but claimed by the UAE), as well as blocking or seizing ships exporting Iranian oil on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the Pentagon is considering sending another 10,000 troops to the region.

“We’re waiting for them,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a western news show host earlier this month after being asked if Tehran was “afraid” of a ground invasion.

The foreign minister added that Iran has prepared a “disaster” for US ground troops who enter the country.

Sources familiar with US intelligence told CNN on 25 March that Iranian forces have been fortifying Kharg Island and “laying traps” in anticipation of a US decision to launch a ground assault.

“Iran has been laying traps and moving additional military personnel and air defenses to Kharg Island in recent weeks in preparation for a possible US operation to take control of the island,” the sources said.

“There would be significant risks involved in such a ground operation,” the sources added, including “a large number of US casualties.”

March 27, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , | Comments Off on Iran mobilizing one million soldiers to ‘create hell’ for any US ground assault: Report

Iran has the last laugh

By M. K. BHADRAKUMAR | Indian Punchline | March 27, 2026

Wars are always unpredictable. The most famous instance is of another armada like the US’ in the Persian Gulf at the moment — the Spanish Armada, a 130-ship naval fleet sent by Spain in 1588 commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat appointed by Philip II of Spain to invade England, depose Queen Elizabeth I, and restore Catholicism.

Despite its strength, the Spanish Armada was defeated in the English Channel by a smaller English force using fireships and better artillery, then largely destroyed by storms while retreating around Scotland and Ireland.

The US president Donald Trump’s much-touted armada has more or less the same mission as the Spanish Armada — ranging from regime change to  overthrow of the Islamic system of governance to the unspoken leitmotif of a Crusade. Curiously, it seems destined for a similar miserable ending too, the US’ overwhelming military superiority notwithstanding.

Sir Alexander William Younger KCMGUS, former head of MI6, said in an interview with the Economist on Monday that Iran has gained the “upper hand” in the ongoing war with the United States and Iran.  Sir Alexander complimented Iran.

More than one factor contributed to this “paradigm shift” of the Big Boy coming out second best. Bad planning, lack of a coherent strategy,  over-confidence over the US’ apparent military superiority– all these played their part in the undoing of the plot against Iran that the two aggressors hatched.

It is now out in the open that, incredibly enough, just 16 days into the war, the US forces were already running out of ATACMS/PrSM ground-attack missiles; and, Israel is about to expend its entire Arrow interceptor missiles by the end March. 

The Royal United Services Institute in London published on March 24 an analysis/expert opinion highlighting that the war in Iran has virtually hollowed out the inventory of the US and Israel’s “most critical assets” with no prospects of replenishment anytime soon in a near future due to the fragilities of the US defence industrial base. 

The findings are a stark warning that with the conflict having “settled into a grinding trial of attrition” after the first 96 hours, the inventories of long-range interceptors and precision strike weapons are nearing exhaustion. 

The CEO of Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger warned on 19 March that global stockpiles are “empty or nearly empty” and if the war continues another month, “we nearly have no missiles available”.

To be sure, Iranians are watching closely and that explains their defiant stance that “Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its conditions are met.” Tehran has warned that it will continue to deal “heavy blows” across the Middle East. Media reports confirm Iran’s claim that it has rendered dysfunctional the US bases all across the region. Had it not been about a war, there is cause for celebration when the notorious bully gets thrashed by a little brother.

Word is spreading in the US despite the cover-up by the administration that “The U.S. war in Iran is taking a mounting toll on America’s military, with rising casualties, dwindling munitions stockpiles, a sidelined aircraft carrier and numerous downed aircraft just three weeks into the conflict, ” to quote from The Hill, an influential newspaper that circulates among lawmakers in the US Congress.

The report adds, “At least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while another 232 have been injured since the U.S.-Israeli war against Tehran began on Feb. 28. In addition, some 16 American aircraft have been destroyed, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier was damaged in a laundry room fire earlier this month and American forces are quickly blowing through stocks of air defence and long-range munitions.”

The commentary carried by RUSI says that Iran has damaged at least a dozen US and allied radars and satellite terminals, which has impacted the efficiency of interception. Evidently, using 10 or 11 interceptors for one Iranian missile or 8 patriot missiles for one Iranian drone becomes unsustainable going ahead. It underscored that the US military is “approximately a month, or less, away from running out of ATACMS/PrSM ground-attack missiles and THAAD interceptors. And Israel is in an even more precarious spot, with its Arrow interceptor missiles likely to be completely expended by the end of March.”

In real terms, this implies accepting greater risk for aircraft and tolerating more Iranian missiles and drones damaging US-Israeli forces and infrastructure. The audacious Iranian attacks this week on Dimona, Israel’s nuclear city, is a vivid example. 

“The precariousness … could possibly explain why President Trump is already suggesting the ‘winding down’ of the Iran war; it could take years to replace what was expended in only 16 days,” the commentary points out. Given the limitations of the US defence industrial base, “it will likely take at least 5 years to replenish the 500 plus Tomahawk missiles already fired in the war. 

“Worse, sourcing critical defence minerals, rare earths, and materials to make the weapons and munitions is complicated by China. China controls most of the world’s gallium and germanium, and Beijing has imposed numerous mineral export controls since 2023, to prevent the US and its allies from acquiring these necessary inputs for the defence industrial base.”

The “strategic consequence” of all this is that continued fighting with Iran not only increases the risk to forces in-theatre but engenders the bigger risk of what it does to deterrence and defence elsewhere, such as “protecting Taiwan and supporting Ukraine”. 

Besides, if the US prioritises replenishing its own stocks, it slows deliveries to other partners. Allies are already signalling concern that “an American focus on its own military replenishment will delay weapon and munition deliveries they have already paid for.”

The reigning superpower that was Spain in the 16th century saw its power crumble after the defeat of the Armada, while England would soon control an empire that the sun never set on. Is history repeating on a similar template in our world in transition?

March 27, 2026 Posted by | Militarism | , , , , , | Comments Off on Iran has the last laugh

Pakistan ramps up food exports to Persian Gulf nations as war deepens food insecurity

The Cradle | March 26, 2026

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif instructed authorities to speed up exports of surplus food to Persian Gulf states on 26 March, as disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz strain regional supply routes and increase food security concerns.

“It is our duty to take care of the needs of food in the Gulf countries amid the current regional situation where global supply lines are affected,” Sharif said, according to a Prime Minister’s Office handout.

Sharif chaired a high-level meeting to review export plans, instructing officials to ensure domestic supply remains stable while scaling shipments abroad, and calling for expanded flight operations and improved port efficiency to respond to what officials described as an evolving regional situation.

Authorities approved 40 food items for export, including rice, edible oil, sugar, meat, poultry, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables.

Open sea and air routes are being used, with reduced transport costs and no additional export charges on key food categories.

Iran has taken de facto control of the Strait of Hormuz following the start of the US-Israeli war on the nation, severely restricting maritime traffic and allowing only coordinated or approved vessels to pass.

Under this system, Tehran grants access to “friendly” states such as Pakistan, China, India, Russia, Iraq, Bangladesh, Turkiye, Thailand, and Japan, while blocking US- and Israeli-linked vessels, and in some cases imposing transit fees reaching $2 million to some, while granting waivers to allied or negotiated ships.

Pakistan is treated as a “non-hostile” partner, with its vessels granted passage through coordination and security clearance rather than fees imposed.

Thailand recently secured free passage for an oil tanker after direct coordination with Tehran. The Islamic Republic stated that “non-hostile vessels” may transit and affirmed that “Friends have a special place.”

Gulf states heavily reliant on the waterway, including the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, face mounting risks of supply shortages and price increases.

Pakistan has emerged as one of the few countries able to navigate the strait, recently sending a Pakistan-flagged vessel carrying crude through the corridor, elevating Islamabad’s role as both a supplier and a potential intermediary in the war.

Pakistan is facing its own internal strain, with fuel shortages triggering austerity measures aimed at easing pressure on domestic supplies, including reduced work schedules and temporary school closures.

Officials said coordination with Gulf countries is ongoing, with exporter databases established and business-to-business engagements underway.

Sharif warned that delays in execution would not be tolerated, stressing continuous monitoring of domestic supply and demand.

Pakistan’s approach reflects a balancing act between domestic stability, regional demand, and its ties with both Iran and Gulf partners as supply chains remain under pressure.

March 26, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Wars for Israel | , | Comments Off on Pakistan ramps up food exports to Persian Gulf nations as war deepens food insecurity

Former Head Of MI6 Admits That The U.S. And Israel Are Losing The Iran War

The Dissident | March 25, 2026

In an interview with the Economist, Alex Younger, the head of Britain’s MI6 from 2014 to 2020, admitted that Iran has the upper hand against the U.S. and Israel.

When asked, “Who has the upper hand right now, who is in a stronger position?”, Younger replied, “Iran”.

He went on to say “The reality is that the US underestimated the task and I think, as of about two weeks ago, lost the initiative to Iran”.

He added, “The Iranian regime has been more resilient than I think anyone would have expected. They took some good decisions actually as early as last June about dispersing their military capability and delegating the authority for the use of those weapons which has given them significant extra resilience against this incredibly powerful air campaign.”

Younger went on to say, Iran has “embarked on what’s technically called horizontal escalation i.e., firing rockets at anybody within range,” adding that this has “been a very good way of putting indirect price on the US” and has “sort of worked”.

He also said that Iran, “understood the significance of the energy war and held the Strait (of Hormuz) at threat,” which he noted, “globalized the conflict in a way that gives them some weapons.”

He also added that Iran is fighting “a war of existence” while the U.S. is fighting “a war of choice,” noting that this “imbues them (Iran) with more staying power than their US counterparts and they know that now and I think that really is giving them the whip hand”.

Along with this he noted that, “Even with just 10% of its initial drone stocks”, Iran can, “hold the straits at threat because these are not military people, it’s not a military audience you have to satisfy, it is people who own oil tankers and captains of oil tankers and that really does give them the whip hand.”

He concluded that “the options for the US and Israel are pretty limited and not great”.

March 25, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on Former Head Of MI6 Admits That The U.S. And Israel Are Losing The Iran War

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