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A view of a banner featuring Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as the attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran continue on March 14, 2026. [Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Friday that the country’s front lines are far stronger than its “enemies” assume, accusing them of miscalculating Iran’s internal strength, Anadolu reports.
In a written message marking the start of the Persian New Year (Nowruz), Khamenei said the war began after the enemy lost hope of triggering a popular uprising inside Iran.
He said adversaries believed assassinating top leaders and military figures would create fear and despair among the population and lead to the collapse of the political system.
Khamenei, however, said Iranians formed what he described as a “vast defense line” across the country, frustrating those plans.
He also called on Iranian media to avoid focusing on internal weaknesses, warning that hostile media operations aim to undermine national unity.
Khamenei declared the slogan for the new Persian year as “resistance economy under national unity and national security.”
He also said attacks that targeted Turkiye and Oman were not carried out by Iran or its allies, accusing Israel of attempting to sow division between Iran and its neighbors.
Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing so far some 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.
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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.Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying only 9 days ago that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won.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.
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Power outages re-emerged in the Iraqi cities of Erbil, Duhok and Sulaymaniyah following the outbreak of war between the United States and Israel against Iran on March 11, 2026. [Fariq Faraj Mahmood – Anadolu Agency]
The conflict involving Iran has triggered the most severe energy security crisis the world has ever seen, warned a top international energy official, Anadolu reports.
Speaking to The Financial Times on Friday, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said the conflict represents “the greatest global energy security threat in history.”
Birol, a Turkish economist and energy expert, pointed out that the current conflict has cut off twice the volume of gas that Europe lost from Russia in 2022, after the start of the Ukraine war.
The Strait of Hormuz has effectively been blocked by Iranian threats to target vessels, halting “vital arteries” of the global economy, he said.
Birol warned that markets and politicians are still underestimating the depth of the crisis, saying: “People understand that this is a major challenge, but I am not sure that the depth and the consequences of the situation are well understood.”
Even if the conflict ends and the strait is reopened, restarting damaged or shuttered oil and gas fields will take significant time, he said: “It will be six months for some (sites) to be operational, others much longer.”
In response to strait’s closure, last week the IEA announced the release of 400 million barrels of oil and refined products from emergency reserves, about 20% of its total stockpiles.
Birol said additional supply discussions are underway with major producers including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Norway, though he stressed these measures cannot fully offset the loss of Middle Eastern output.
“The single most important action is the resumption of transits through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Birol also urged European governments not to ease restrictions on Russian gas imports, warning against renewed dependence on Moscow despite the current crisis.
Russia’s Nord Stream pipelines remains inoperable, and its reputation as a reliable supplier has been severely damaged, he said.
Looking ahead, Birol said the crisis could reshape global energy policy, echoing the lasting impact of the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks.
He predicted increased investment in renewable energy, a revival of nuclear power, and accelerated adoption of electric vehicles, alongside a possible return to coal use instead of gas.
Regional hostilities in the Middle East have escalated since Israel and the US launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile attacks across the region and has effectively closed to most ships the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil transit route that normally handles about 20 million barrels per day and roughly 20% of global liquefied natural gas trade.
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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.Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying only 9 days ago that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won.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.
US President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Taoiseach of Ireland Micheál Martin in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on March 17, 2026. (Photo by Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images)
The absence of any US strategy becomes clearer by the day. Trump has thrown everything at the wall in the hope that something will stick. So far, nothing has.
President Donald Trump is a victim of his own success. After a quick strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities last June and the capture of Venezuela’s president and First Lady in January, the US military, the illegality of those operations notwithstanding, made war look easy and Trump feel omnipotent.
Three weeks into a more daunting excursion into Iran, Trump is now a desperate leader.
With Trump, everything is personal. A growing body of evidence suggests that a principal objective in attacking Iran was the assassination of the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. For example:
When the CIA learned that the Ayatollah and top Iranian officials would be meeting in a militarily accessible location, a previously planned nighttime strike was moved up to the middle of the day.
On Sunday night, March 1, shortly after reports that the US-Israeli attack had killed the Ayatollah, Trump said, “I got him before he got me.” He was referring to an alleged plot to kill Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign as retribution for the January 2020 US strike that killed Iran’s military leader Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps,
The desire to downplay Trump’s desire for vengeance explains why he and his minions have offered more noble—and contradictory—justifications for the war, including:
To help the Iranian people secure their freedom (Trump);
To attack Iran because Israel was going to do it and that would result in Iran’s attack on US assets in the Middle East (Secretary of State Marco Rubio);
To attack Iran first, not because Israel was going to do it anyway, but because Trump had a gut feeling that Iran was going to attack the US (Trump). But Pentagon officials informed Congress that no intelligence supported Trump’s opinion;
To eliminate Iran’s nuclear capability (although Trump claimed to have done that with the June attack).
Mission Accomplished?
Whatever his motivations, deploying the might of the military force was the beginning and the end of Trump’s thinking. He and his advisors are now flailing in the aftermath.
Iran has divided its global adversaries by holding the world’s economy hostage. Closing the Strait of Hormuz to the US and its allies sent world markets reeling as the price of oil increased by 40 percent and the price of gasoline in the US rose by almost $1.00 per gallon. Trump is trying to sell the line that such costs in the short run will pay off in the long run, but few are buying it.
Trump’s Desperate Ploys
The absence of any US strategy becomes clearer by the day. Trump has thrown everything at the wall in the hope that something will stick. So far, nothing has.
He floated a $200 million insurance guarantee for ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz – but not everyone lives in Trump’s world in which everything has a price.
He suggested using US military escorts for the tankers but offered no timeline; the risks to US military personnel and equipment would be enormous.
He tried shaming oil tanker crews to “show some guts” and continue sailing through the Strait – even as tankers burst into flames when trying to do so. Maybe Trump should go first.
He pleaded with world leaders to join his “team” to reopen the Strait for shipping, saying, “Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren’t. Some are countries that we’ve helped for many, many years. We’ve protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren’t that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm matters to me.”
He ridiculed allies refusing his requests to join a war that he started without consulting them: “We have some countries where we have 45,000 soldiers, great soldiers, protecting them from harm’s way, and we have done a great job. And when we want to know, ‘Do you have any mine sweepers?’ ‘Well, would rather not get involved, sir.’”
He made threats that are not-so-veiled: “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”
Attacking the Messenger
In a futile effort at damage control, Trump accused media outlets of dispensing “fake news” about the growing Iran debacle. They “should be brought up on charges of TREASON,” he posted. In the same tirade, he said that he was “thrilled to see Brendan Carr, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), looking at the licenses of some of these Corrupt and Highly Unpatriotic ‘News’ Organizations.”
Hearing and heeding his master’s voice, Carr shared another Trump post criticizing news coverage of the Iran war and issued this hollow threat: “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions – also known as the fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up… Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s lengthy criticism of Iran war coverage included a special message for CNN: “The sooner David Ellison [the son of billionaire Trump supporter Larry Ellison] takes over that network, the better.”
This much is certain: Trump will never take responsibility for any failure of his policies, including the Iran war. When his deportation operation became a scandal and one of his worst political liabilities, Kristi Noem became a casualty. If Trump’s Iran war continues to go badly, he’ll need another scapegoat. Hegseth has been living on borrowed time since the Signalgate scandal. He should have been fired long ago.
But make no mistake. Hegseth is just Trump’s useful idiot. This is and always has been Trump’s war. It began as his personal war of retribution, ignored predictable consequences for the world, and never had an endgame strategy.
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.Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone …Orcas discuss rotting brain. Front Orca says “Wish someone would lock him up”.
Detroit, Michigan, residents picket DTE Energy, opposing the electric utility’s plan to provide power for a proposed $7 billion data center in rural Michigan, on December 3, 3025. (Photo by Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Sixty percent of respondents blamed the energy demand of large users like AI data centers for higher household electricity costs.
It’s been two weeks since Big Tech companies gathered at the White House to sign a nonbinding pledge saying they will not pass on higher utility costs to consumers as the rapid build-out of energy-intensive artificial intelligence data centers sends electricity bills skyrocketing—but polling out Wednesday showed a majority of Americans reject President Donald Trump’s plan to leave corporations responsible for tackling the affordability crisis.
Those same companies, said most respondents to a survey by Data for Progress and Groundwork Collaborative, are responsible for higher costs that have hit households across the country, and can’t be trusted to ensure life is more affordable for families.
Instead, said 61% of respondents, “cracking down on price gouging” from both utility and energy companies would be the most effective way to lower the cost of electricity. In comparison, just 35% said building more energy infrastructure to meet demands was the answer to high costs.
While Trump has been forced in recent weeks to acknowledge that “energy demands from AI data centers could unfairly drive up” people’s energy costs, as he admitted in his State of the Union address while announcing AI companies would sign his “ratepayer protection pledge,” the president has largely deflected blame regarding the affordability crisis—or denied its existence altogether.
Trump claimed at a rally in Kentucky last week that “the economy is roaring back,” even as his $1 billion-per-day, unprovoked war on Iran inflamed tensions across the Middle East and drove upoil prices.
Groundwork said in its analysis of the poll that following Trump’s announcement of the ratepayer protection pledge, “Americans reject this reliance on corporations to do the right thing.”
Elizabeth Pancotti, managing director of policy and advocacy for Groundwork Collaborative, said that “utility prices are up and consumers know the truth: These price increases are being driven by corporate greed and unchecked AI data center growth.”
Trump has pushed to accelerate the construction of new data centers by fast-tracking the permitting process.
Two-thirds of those surveyed said their monthly electricity payments have gone up in the past year, with nearly a quarter of respondents saying they had increased by “a lot.” More than 40% of people said they are now paying between $101-$200 per month for electricity.
As Common Dreams reported last November, Trump’s demand for AI companies to build massive, energy-sucking data centers in communities across the US has been linked to rising costs of consumers, with the average overdue balance on utility bills surging by 32% in the last three years and states with high concentrations of AI data centers seeing electricity prices skyrocket by as much as 16% from 2024-25.
Sixty percent of respondents told Data for Progress and Groundwork Collaborative that the energy demand of large commercial users like AI data centers is to blame for higher consumer prices, and the same percentage of people also blamed high compensation for utility company executives. Sixty-three percent of those polled said high profits for utility companies and their investors were to blame.
Joint Economic Committee Democrats revealed Tuesday that the average annual US electric bill increased by $110 last year.
A 2022 analysis by Accountable.US found that the nine largest US energy utility companies raked in nearly $14 billion in combined profits in the first three quarters of that year and handed out $11 billion to shareholders while tens of millions of households struggled with rising utility bills.
Nearly 60% of the 1,149 people polled by the two progressive think tanks also said the public sector must take a leadership role on providing energy, “because the public sector doesn’t collect profits and can pass on savings to customers,” and 60% said the public sector should be responsible for upgrading and modernizing the electric grid because it is a “public resource that should serve all Americans equally, not generate profits for shareholders.”
Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy for Groundwork and a former Biden administration official, said the poll revealed that “the people believe in public power.”
The groups also polled respondents on their opinions of “energy superusers,” including cryptocurrency companies, AI data centers, and AI firms.
Crypto companies were the least popular, with 54% disapproving compared to 26% who approved. Voters disapproved of AI data centers by a 16-point margin and AI companies in general by an 8-point margin.
Nearly two-thirds said they believe new AI data centers would raise their energy costs, and voters across the political spectrum opposed new data centers in their communities.
Grassroots efforts have taken off in states including Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Jersey as community members have rejected the construction of data centers on the grounds that they would consume massive amounts of water as well as electricity, threaten jobs, and take up space that could otherwise be used for affordable housing and small businesses.
“Voters feel ripped off by the corporations who hold their utilities hostage and are calling on lawmakers to put an end to the profiteering racket,” said Pancotti. “It’s time for regulators and policymakers to answer the call to protect working families from predatory utility corporations and Big Tech.”
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.Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cNKBW5LLMlsDonald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying only 9 days ago that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9dn3j04lydo
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A child who survived the attack is seen as funeral prayers are held in the town of Tamun, north of Tubas, West Bank, for Ali Khalid Sayil Beni Awda (37), his wife Vaad Osman Akil Beni Awda (35), and their children Mohammed (5) and Osman (7), who lost their lives after Israeli soldiers opened fire on their car while they were returning from the city of Nablus where they had gone to buy Eid al-Fitr clothes for their children ahead of the holiday, on March 15, 2026. [Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency]
As the US-Israel war on Iran escalates, violence in the occupied West Bank is intensifying, largely out of the global spotlight, Anadolu reports.
Rights groups and analysts say Palestinians are facing a sharp rise in attacks by Israeli forces and settlers, alongside tighter movement restrictions and growing displacement, as international attention shifts toward the wider regional conflict.
Recent incidents have underscored the worsening situation. Israeli settlers were reported to have sexually assaulted a Palestinian man in the northern Jordan Valley, while Israeli forces killed a family of four, including two children, in the town of Tammun.
Analysts say the escalation has accelerated since US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, triggering a broader regional war.
“The Israeli government took advantage of the situation in the region by unleashing the settlers to attack Palestinian properties, homes and lives,” said Mohamad Alqeeq, a Ramallah-based Palestinian political analyst and writer.
Max Rodenbeck, Israel-Palestine director at the International Crisis Group, pointed out that settler violence had “already been growing” before the Iran war, “ever since the current Israeli government took office in December 2022.”
Just like Israel’s war on Gaza, the Iran conflict has diverted media attention, creating conditions that allow settlement expansion to accelerate, he said.
Along with the shift in focus, security measures imposed by Israel “due to wartime conditions also help, by confining Palestinians to their towns, villages or homes while allowing settlers to roam freely,” Rodenbeck added.
– Damning data
Between Feb. 28 and March 14, Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 13 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Eight were shot by Israeli forces, including two minors, while five were killed by settler militias.
In a briefing to foreign diplomats on Tuesday, Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin warned that illegal Israeli settlers have been attacking Palestinians and their properties every day, including killings, assaults, arson attacks and destruction of agricultural land, “under the direct protection of the Israeli army.”
At the same time, Israeli forces have intensified raids and arrests across the Palestinian territory.
Rights groups have documented pre-dawn operations in areas including Qalqilya, Ramallah, Hebron and East Jerusalem, where dozens of Palestinians were detained in a single night. In another raid in Askar refugee camp, several people were injured and others arrested.
UN officials also say that Israeli security forces have carried out daily raids since Feb. 28, detaining at least 200 Palestinians, including on charges such as “incitement” or “glorification of the enemy” through social media posts.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 1,062 Palestinians, including at least 231 children, were killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between Oct. 7, 2023 and March 7 this year.
– Restrictions and displacement
Beyond direct violence, Palestinians are facing a widening set of Israeli restrictions affecting daily life, including curbs on movement and closures of religious sites.
UN agencies said movement restrictions have intensified across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since Feb. 28, limiting access to work, health care and essential services.
“In particular, increased access restrictions across the West Bank hindered the ability of ambulances and fire brigades to move between villages, hospitals, and service centers,” UN OCHA said.
Between Feb. 28 and March 3, the agency documented nine incidents in which ambulances were obstructed and held at gunpoint.
Delays and closures have also caused shortages of fuel, including cooking gas, it added.
Access to religious sites has also been restricted. Israeli authorities have limited Muslim worshippers’ access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, a move denounced by rights groups as “a clear violation of freedom of worship.”
At the same time, demolitions of Palestinian homes have increased. The Jerusalem Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights reported that Israel demolished 312 residential and agricultural structures in the first six weeks of 2026 alone.
Ajith Sunghay, head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said at least nine Palestinian communities have been fully or partially displaced since Feb. 28, mostly in the northern Jordan Valley.
A separate UN report published on Tuesday found that more than 36,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced between November 2024 and October 2025 due to increasing violence by Israeli security forces and settlers.
– Expansion under cover of war
Analysts say the current wave of violence comes alongside broader efforts by Israel to expand administrative and legal control over Palestinian land.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Shahin said Israeli authorities are using regional crises to accelerate settlement expansion and annexation.
She said the international community’s focus on wider conflicts has allowed Israel to push forward policies aimed at consolidating permanent control over the occupied West Bank.
Analyst Alqeeq agreed with her assessment, saying Israel “took advantage of the US military buildup in the region” to accelerate its plans to annex more land, including by increasing military operations and greenlighting settler attacks.
Crisis Group expert Rodenbeck said the situation is being driven not only by policy decisions but also by a broader climate of impunity for settler violence.
“Enabling Israeli measures include distributing weapons to settlers, loosening rules for weapons licensing, gifting vehicles (including quad bikes) to settlers, legalizing previously ‘illegal’ settlement outposts, allowing settlers to wear military uniforms, lifting the Israeli army’s right to detain settlers … failing to prosecute settlers, and extremely lenient sentences for settler crimes. That is just a quick, partial list.”
He emphasized that Palestinians “are being treated as an enemy population, and collectively punished.”
“Palestinians are already being ethnically cleansed from large parts of the West Bank, and squeezed into ever-smaller, more isolated pockets,” Rodenbeck said.
“Current Israeli policy offers no future to the West Bank’s 3.3 million Palestinians except deepening repression. It is a recipe for disaster, but just what kind of disaster we do not know.”
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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.Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cNKBW5LLMlsDonald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying only 9 days ago that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9dn3j04lydo
