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US military assets worth billions damaged or lost in Iran war: Report

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A view of US military refueling aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport as the US-Israel attacks on Iran continue and retaliatory actions from Iran against Israel, primarily are ongoing in the capital Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 22, 2026. [Nir Keidar – Anadolu Agency]

Billions of dollars in US military equipment have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, mostly due to Iranian missile and drone attacks, according to a Wall Street Journal report published on Friday, Anadolu reports.

Losses in the first three weeks of the conflict are estimated at $1.4 billion to $2.9 billion, Elaine McCusker, a former Pentagon budget official now at the American Enterprise Institute, told the newspaper.

Among the incidents cited, three F-15E fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by a Kuwaiti aircraft on March 1, while an F-35 stealth jet made an emergency landing on March 16 after reportedly coming under fire. Iran claims it targeted the aircraft, according to the report.

A midair collision between two KC-135 refueling planes over Iraq also killed six crew members. Five more KC-135s were damaged in an Iranian missile strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia and are undergoing repairs.

More than a dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones have been lost, including several shot down by missiles and others destroyed on the ground. Iranian strikes also damaged aircraft and radar systems at US bases in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan.

A fire broke out on the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford on March 12; the ship is now undergoing repairs at Souda Bay, Greece, according to the US Navy.

The Pentagon plans to replace some of the damaged systems through a proposed $200 billion supplemental spending request.

Anadolu could not independently verify the reported losses.

Regional tensions escalated after Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran, killing more than 1,340 people. Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

So far, 13 US service members have been killed and roughly 290 others injured since the operations began.

READ: Israeli gov’t ‘sending army into multi-front war without strategy,’ says opposition leader

Keir Starmer explains that UK is participating defensively in Trump and Israel's criminal war for Israel's genocidal expansion in Iran and states that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said "I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is participating defensively in Trump and Israel’s criminal war for Israel’s genocidal expansion in Iran and states that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.

Continue ReadingUS military assets worth billions damaged or lost in Iran war: Report

US, Israel target Iran’s largest steel companies in new wave of strikes

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Residents continue their daily lives despite the attacks following the military operations launched by the United States and Israel, killing hundreds of civilians, as well as high-ranking officials, in Tehran, Iran on March 25, 2026. [Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]

The US and Israel targeted Iran’s Khuzestan and Mobarakeh steel companies, among the country’s most strategic and largest steel companies, in a new wave of strikes amid an ongoing escalation, Anadolu reports.

Emergency units arrived at the scene, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Friday, stating that more details will be revealed regarding the development.

One person was killed and 15 others were injured during the attack in Isfahan, Iran’s IRIB News Agency reported, citing Mehdi Jamalinejad, the provincial governor.

Regional escalation has continued since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with waves of drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, inflicting casualties and infrastructure damage while disrupting global markets and aviation.

US military assets worth billions damaged or lost in Iran war: Report

Keir Starmer explains that UK is participating defensively in Trump and Israel's criminal war for Israel's genocidal expansion in Iran and states that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said "I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is participating defensively in Trump and Israel’s criminal war for Israel’s genocidal expansion in Iran and states that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.

Continue ReadingUS, Israel target Iran’s largest steel companies in new wave of strikes

Morning Star Editorial: McSweeney’s missing phone reeks of Establishment cover-up

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/mcsweeneys-missing-phone-reeks-establishment-cover

 Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and then British ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC., February 26, 2025

… Parliament determined last month that all government communications relating to Peter Mandelson’s disastrous appointment as ambassador to Washington in December 2024 be made public.

That is to allow voters to understand how this first-order misjudgement, naming to the country’s most prestigious diplomatic post a man famous for his overaffection for the rich, twice dismissed from government amid scandal, and most importantly known for his prolonged intimacy with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

…

No communications are likely to have been more relevant to the appointment than those from and to McSweeney, then Downing Street chief of staff, effectively running the government as top aide to the ineffectual Keir Starmer.

McSweeney was mentored by Mandelson as a close associate in Labour’s unending factional wars, with the younger man carrying forward the latter’s obsessive hatred of the left and socialism.

It is clear that he was instrumental in pushing Keir Starmer to name Mandelson to Washington. It is believed that he was charged with asking the now-disgraced New Labour grandee about his relationship with Epstein.

While the Prime Minister bears the responsibility, it appears that this was a calamity engineered largely by McSweeney, whose messages on the subject would therefore be central to any understanding of it.

Yet it is now unclear if we will ever read them. Now, McSweeney announces that his mobile phone was stolen in London last year, a month after Mandelson’s enforced departure from Washington and when it was already highly likely that some form of public accounting for the misjudgement would follow.

The police concur that McSweeney reported the theft at the time it apparently occurred. Giving an incorrect location, and then asserting that he was near a park in east London when he was in fact miles away in Westminster may perhaps be attributable to the stress of the moment.

Failing to advise the police that he was the No 10 chief of staff, and that his device held any number of secret communications of state significance is far less comprehensible, since that omission must have downgraded the police response.

Still odder, No 10 is unable to confirm that the contents of McSweeney’s phone have been fully backed up in line with government regulations for handling official business.

So on this occasion, the stench of cover-up is powerful, however much Starmer may deny it.

…

Read the original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/mcsweeneys-missing-phone-reeks-establishment-cover

Keir Starmer discusses Peter Mandelson, Jeffrey Epstein and the UK Labour Party's tradition of excusing and protecting child rapists.
Keir Starmer discusses Peter Mandelson, Jeffrey Epstein and the UK Labour Party’s tradition of excusing and protecting child rapists.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer confirms that he's proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Keir Starmer confirms that he’s proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Continue ReadingMorning Star Editorial: McSweeney’s missing phone reeks of Establishment cover-up

Hezbollah launches 600 projectiles in 24 hours: Israeli media

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Firefighters work where rockets fired by Hezbollah reportedly struck several locations in Nahariya, Israel’s northern Galilee region, on March 16, 2026. [Samir Abdalhade – Anadolu Agency]

Israeli media reported Thursday that Hezbollah launched about 600 rockets, drones and mortar rounds over the past 24 hours, most of them targeting Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, Anadolu reports.

According to Channel 24, the projectiles were fired toward Israeli territory and troops operating in southern Lebanon.

“More than half of the launches were directed at Israeli forces,” the channel said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Wednesday that Hezbollah has launched more than 3,500 rockets, shells and drones toward Israel since the current conflict began early this month.

Earlier Thursday, the Israeli military said a soldier was killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where hostilities have escalated since March 2.

READ: Hezbollah says 2 ambushes destroyed 10 Israeli Merkava tanks

According to military figures, three Israeli soldiers have so far been killed in southern Lebanon.

In a separate statement, the Israeli military said Golani Brigade forces continued “focused ground operations” to expand what it described as a “forward security zone” in southern Lebanon.

Israel has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by the Hezbollah group on March 2.

Lebanese authorities say at least 1,094 people have been killed and 3,119 injured in Israeli attacks since then.

The current escalation came amid a joint US-Israeli offensive on Iran which has killed more than 1,340 people since Feb. 28. Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, US bases and Gulf countries.

READ: Israel using ‘Gaza playbook’ in Lebanon, destroying water infrastructure: Report

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Keir Starmer explains that UK is participating defensively in Trump and Israel's criminal war for Israel's genocidal expansion in Iran and states that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said "I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is participating defensively in Trump and Israel’s criminal war for Israel’s genocidal expansion in Iran and states that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump warns against following the https://onaquietday.org blog, says that it's easy atm, she only needs to report war crimes supporting Israel's genocidal expansion.
Donald Trump warns against following the https://onaquietday.org blog, says that it’s easy atm, she only needs to report war crimes supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.

Continue ReadingHezbollah launches 600 projectiles in 24 hours: Israeli media

Torture, genocide and erasure

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Israeli settlers seize 13 apartments belonging to Palestinians in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem on March 25, 2026. [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency].

by Ramona Wadi walzerscent

“This is not incidental violence. It is the architecture of settler-colonialism, built on a foundation of dehumanisation and maintained by a policy of cruelty and collective terror.” The concluding sentence to the summary of UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s report to the UN Human Rights Council on torture and genocide succinctly sums up how Israel has been using torture as part of its gradual annihilation of the Palestinian people. Since October 2023, torture has become a weapon in Israel’s genocide.

Albanese notes that while torture is a crime under international law, the Genocide Convention describes torture as an underlying act of genocide “when inflicted with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a protected group “as such”. Genocide, Albanese explains from the legal framework of the Genocide Convention, “many be committed through sustained practices that break bodies, minds and collective resilience.”

READ: Israeli army demolishes Palestinian park, car showroom in occupied West Bank

The historical realities of torture since the British Mandate contextualises the current torture practices Israel inflicts on Palestinians today. British torture practices were incorporated by Israel after 1948. In 1987, the Landau Commission effectively ruled in favour of torture “on a person suspected of involvement in terrorist activities.” With impunity assigned a foundation, what happens when a settler-colonial entity which treats Palestinians as legitimate targets for annihilation, blatantly considers all Palestinians as terrorists?

Torture becomes normalised, and because the international community has already subscribed to Israel’s security narrative, there is no opposition to a practice that, as Albanese illustrated, also constitutes an underlying act of genocide. 

It is not Israel’s torture of Palestinian detainees since October 2023 that catches attention when reading the report, but the analysis of how Israel uses genocide as a means of torture. Albanese’s report illustrates how mass displacement, the destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure and cultural sites, the erasure of collective memory through such destruction, the destruction of the healthcare system, starvation, permanent disabilities, as well as Israeli weaponry used against Palestinians in Gaza all constitute forms of torture. The same applies to the occupied West Bank, where sophisticated surveillance and military incursions, the destruction of refugee camps and agricultural land, all constitute forms of torture and genocidal violence.

READ: Gaza death toll from Israeli war nears 72,300, Health Ministry says

Having prioritised Israel’s security narrative over rights, both the Knesset and Israel’s judiciary have normalised torture. Albanese writes, “Torture has thus become a collective enterprise,” showing how the entire fabric of Israeli society renders itself a participant in torture practices through the settler-colonial narrative. “by targeting the totality of the people, across the totality of the occupied land, through a totality of conduct, genocide has become the ultimate form of torture: continuous, generational and collective.”

Justice, Albanese stated, should “confront torture not as an isolated crime, but as a foundational pillar of the genocidal project aimed at the complete erasure – physical and psychological destruction, displacement and replacement – of the Palestinian people.” Torture as state policy has ensured that no aspect of Palestinian life is immune. The report illustrates what statistical data omits – the price Palestinians are paying in their daily lives for the international community’s complicity with colonialism and genocide. 

BLOG: The UN leaves UNRWA isolated, and Palestinians prone to genocide

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Keir Starmer explains that UK is participating defensively in Trump and Israel's criminal war for Israel's genocidal expansion in Iran and states that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said "I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is participating defensively in Trump and Israel’s criminal war for Israel’s genocidal expansion in Iran and states that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump warns against following the https://onaquietday.org blog, says that it's easy atm, she only needs to report war crimes supporting Israel's genocidal expansion.
Donald Trump warns against following the https://onaquietday.org blog, says that it’s easy atm, she only needs to report war crimes supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Continue ReadingTorture, genocide and erasure