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Israeli foreign minister denies country facing interceptor shortages IDF destroyed 2,200 Iranian regime targets, but conservative on regime change chances White House tries to build coalition on Iran to address energy crisis If seizing Iran’s nuclear material is the endgame, here’s what it would take WSJ Editorial: The real nuclear history of Iran Russia says Ukraine struck Moscow with about 250 drones this weekend IDF's 91st Division launches dramatic ground push into southern Lebanon IDF has destroyed 85-90% of Hezbollah's pre-2023 rocket arsenal Israel and Lebanon expected to hold talks soon, Israeli officials say China resumes military flights around Taiwan after sudden 10-day hiatus Madison Policy Forum Chairman John Spencer: China has a lot to lose in the U.S.-Israel War on Iran Cuba acknowledges negotiations with WashingtonIn The News
Israel
In Tel Aviv, which bears the brunt of Iranian drone and missile fire, fatigue is visible on the faces of people woken several times each night by air-raid sirens. Many who don’t have a special reinforced room in their home, called in Hebrew a mamad, choose to camp in communal bunkers instead of scrambling to safety every time an alert goes off. – Wall Street Journal
Israeli forces killed 16 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, health officials said, in one of the heaviest death tolls in a single day in weeks, as Israel continued to launch attacks on Lebanon and Iran. – Reuters
A fragment of an Iranian missile struck a residential building used by the U.S. consul in Jerusalem, Israeli media reported, although the U.S. State Department said there were no injuries to U.S. personnel. – Reuters
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday denied a report that Israel was facing a shortage of ballistic missile interceptors after more than two weeks of war that has seen repeated attacks from Iran and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. – Reuters
An Israeli airstrike that targeted members of the Hamas-run police force killed at least eight people in central Gaza Strip, health officials said on Sunday. – Reuters
The Palestinian Iran-aligned militant group Hamas has called on Iran to not target neighbouring countries, while still reaffirming Tehran’s right to respond to the U.S.-Israeli attacks. – Reuters
The IDF has destroyed an astounding 2,200 Iranian regime targets, mostly in the Tehran and western Iran areas, which it hopes will weaken the regime substantially as well as the regime’s ability to threaten Israel, the military said on Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
Despite being apparently ahead of schedule, the military has said it is preparing for at least three more weeks of operations in Iran, as it still has thousands more targets to hit, both in Tehran and in other parts of the country. – Times of Israel
Iran fired several missile salvos at Israel on Saturday, with one impact injuring three people in Eilat and a few other impacts in the country’s center causing damage but no injuries, as the Israel Defense Forces continued to pound the Islamic Republic. – Times of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tapped former minister and longtime aide Ron Dermer to handle the Lebanon file for the duration of the ongoing Mideast war, Channel 12 news reported Friday, citing senior Israeli and US officials. – Times of Israel
Iran
The Trump administration as soon as this week plans to announce that multiple countries have agreed to form a coalition that will escort ships through the waterway, which runs along the Iranian coast, U.S. officials said. The U.S. and potential coalition countries are still discussing whether those operations would begin before or after the war ends. – Wall Street Journal
President Trump has said preventing Iran from ever developing nuclear weapons is a central aim of the war he is waging. In the absence of regime change—or at least a deal to hand over its enriched uranium by Tehran’s leaders—that could mean seizing the country’s fissile material. – Wall Street Journal
Tehran has taken control of the Strait of Hormuz using far less sophisticated weaponry than the U.S. has unleashed and can now choke energy supplies and commercial shipping through the vital waterway. The goal: to drag the U.S. into a war of economic attrition, inflicting pain on America and its allies around the world. – Wall Street Journal
Four more members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who were granted humanitarian visas in Australia have decided to return to Iran. Seven members claimed humanitarian assistance in Australia earlier this month. They did so out of fear that they would face retribution at home for the team’s refusal to sing the Iranian national anthem at a tournament in Australia. – Wall Street Journal
As American and Israeli armed forces hunt Iranian missile launchers, radar sites and warships, Iran is taking aim at a different set of targets: the civilian institutions that define the modern age of globalization. – Washington Post
President Donald Trump on Friday night announced that the United States had bombed Kharg Island, targeting Iran’s most critical oil terminal in an attack that Tehran has warned would escalate the conflict. – Washington Post
Two weeks into a war against Iran that he chose to launch, President Trump faces a stark choice — stay in the battle to achieve the dauntingly ambitious goals he has set, or try to extract himself from an expanding and intensifying conflict that is generating damaging military, diplomatic and economic shock waves. – New York Times
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday there were “no guarantees” that oil prices would fall in the coming weeks, despite President Trump’s having vowed repeatedly that the United States will try to force Iran to stop attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. – New York Times
The Israeli military said on Monday it had destroyed a plane used by Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport overnight. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday accused Iran of using artificial intelligence as a “disinformation weapon” to misrepresent its wartime successes and support. – Reuters
Iran has arrested 500 people accused of sharing information with enemies, the Islamic Republic’s police chief said on Sunday, as Israeli and U.S. fighter jets continue to strike new targets in the country. – Reuters
At least 15 people were killed when a missile strike hit a factory in the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Saturday, the semi-official Fars news agency said. – Reuters
Russia is supplying Iran with Shahed drones to use against the U.S. and Israel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told CNN in an interview excerpt aired on Saturday. – Reuters
Kharg Island, where U.S. forces on Friday destroyed military targets, is the hub for 90% of Iran’s oil exports and has long been seen as a key vulnerability that would provoke a severe response by Tehran if attacked. – Reuters
U.S. intelligence has circulated to President Trump and to a small circle around him that Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had misgivings about his son replacing him, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. – CBS News
Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi posted a message to his fellow Iranians on X/Twitter on Sunday in honor of Charshanbeh Suri, an ancient Persian holiday discouraged by the current regime. – Jerusalem Post
Two senior officials in the intelligence branch of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya emergency command were killed in a targeted Israeli Air Force strike in Tehran, the IDF confirmed on Saturday. – Jerusalem Post
Iran will demand assurances that all attacks will stop and reparations are made for war damages before agreeing to end the conflict, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Qatari-owned Al-Araby al-Jadeed on Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
The Israel Defense Forces’ campaign in the joint war with the United States against Iran is proceeding according to plan, and at a faster pace than initially expected, military officials said on Sunday, with strikes on Iran’s defense industries expected to further ramp up alongside ongoing efforts to reduce missile fire on Israel. – Times of Israel
Editorial: Critics of Mr. Trump’s bombing campaign now say it will motivate Iran to pursue nuclear weapons in earnest. But that’s what it has been doing for years. Critics also say the IRGC will now steer the ship of state, but it’s been doing that since the days of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The IRGC’s humiliation of Iran’s President in recent days only lifts that veil. No one knows how this war will evolve. But one certainty since June is that the nuclear designs of a fanatical, anti-American regime have been set back years. A “race” to a bomb would now be more difficult, with Israel and the U.S. poised to intervene. Iran’s regime also faces serious economic, domestic and international problems that will last well beyond the war. – Wall Street Journal
Daniel C. Kurtzer and Aaron David Miller write: A U.S.-Israeli military victory in Iran and the weakening of its proxies would certainly calm the waters of immediate conflict. Markets will improve and the global oil picture will brighten over time. These are no small matters. The United States can turn its attention to Russia and the war in Ukraine and focus on possible threats by China to Taiwan. Still, it is wise to recall the wisdom of the satirist Ambrose Bierce, who defined peace as “a period of cheating between two periods of fighting.” How long before the cheating resumes in this broken region will depend on the willingness of its leaders and those outside the Middle East to not walk away but to work on real transformations: to lasting peace, respect for human rights and economic benefits for all. – New York Times
Dennis Ross writes: These efforts may not spell the end of Iran’s odious, oppressive regime. But destroying much of Iran’s ability to project power and attacking the security forces that suppress the Iranian public will surely hasten the regime’s collapse. When the regime’s foot soldiers suffer the same relentless strikes, water and electricity shortages, and plummeting currency as the rest of the country, they may be less inclined to spill blood and risk their own lives to prop up a republic riven with cracks. – Washington Institute
Akbar Ganji writes: However the internal and external power struggles unfold, none of their leading participants are capable of resolving Iran’s problems. Neither Mojtaba’s leadership nor violent U.S. and Israeli attempts at regime change will improve the lives of ordinary Iranians. Only Iranians themselves can lead the transition toward a secular republic committed to freedom, human rights, and justice. In the meantime, they will continue to suffer—under a repressive regime on the one hand and bombardment on the other. – Foreign Affairs
Caitlin Talmadge writes: In short, if Iran effectively mines the strait, all U.S. response options are suboptimal. The United States should therefore focus aggressively on preventing Iranian mine-laying in the first place and finding an off-ramp from the larger war. If it does not, Washington should expect that ongoing harassment of traffic in the strait will be but one of a number of responses that Iran has long prepared and will now deploy. – Foreign Affairs
Kelly A. Grieco writes: The Desert Storm findings were not published until six years after the war ended. Systems like the Shahed — designed to obscure production, storage, and launch — make the gap between confident assessment and ground truth even wider. Hegseth was correct about one point: Battle damage assessment “takes time.” On March 11 — the day after the Pentagon briefing — Iran conducted what it described as its 37th wave of attacks, striking targets across Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Oman while also hitting multiple vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Whatever the 83 percent figure measures, it does not reflect an adversary whose strike capacity — much less its will to fight — has already been neutralized. – War on the Rocks
Harrison Kass writes: Strategically, the destruction of Iran’s fleet severely weakens its ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz; without its surface ships and mine warfare capability, sustaining a blockade becomes far more difficult. And the loss of vessels like Shahid Bagheri and Makran functionally ends Iran’s ambitions for an expeditionary navy. Iran still possesses a limited submarine force and coastal missile launchers and small irregular craft. But these assets are paltry relative to the fleet that existed just two weeks ago. In sum, the Iranian navy has effectively collapsed, forcing a short-term doctrinal shift, and potentially, a long-term rebuild that could take decades. – National Interest
Russia and Ukraine
Russia is stepping up its tests of systems designed to keep millions of people from accessing information online in times of political unrest, shutting off mobile internet access in the capital in recent days. – Wall Street Journal
The war in the Middle East is triggering an increasingly bitter dispute in the trans-Atlantic alliance, as the U.S. and its allies diverge over whether the conflict is inadvertently strengthening Russia, which Europe sees as a greater threat than Iran. – Wall Street Journal
Debris crashed in central Kyiv and two other districts of the Ukrainian capital on Monday from a Russian drone attack, though there were no immediate reports of injuries, officials said. – Reuters
Russia said on Monday that Ukraine launched a major drone attack on Moscow with more than 100 drones over the weekend, with wave after wave of long-range “kamikaze” drones being shot down by air defences on their way to city. – Reuters
Ukraine wants money and technology in return for helping Middle Eastern nations that have sought its expertise as they defend against Iranian kamikaze drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, after Kyiv sent specialists to the region. – Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that a U.S. decision to ease sanctions on Russian oil was not helping to end the conflict in Ukraine as he sought reassurances of support in Paris amid the war in the Middle East. – Reuters
Russia intends to control the relaunch and operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant when it is safe to do so but it would be willing to discuss selling electricity to Ukraine, the head of its state nuclear corporation said on Friday. – Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in comments released Sunday that he was ready for the next round of trilateral peace talks to end Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion of Ukraine, but that it was up to Washington and Moscow to agree on where and when to meet. – Military.Com
Alexander Gabuev, Nicole Grajewski, and Sergey Vakulenko write: Higher energy prices would also make Russian oil and gas indispensable. European and U.S. policymakers would then face a tough choice: continue tightening sanctions pressure on Russia at a mounting economic cost or soften their stance. Russia’s own choices are less complicated. The Kremlin’s recent failures to help its partners—in Syria, Venezuela, and Iran—have laid bare the limitations of its reach as a global power. With its resources tied down in Ukraine, Moscow can be of little material help to its authoritarian friends. What remains is a narrower objective: cash in on the unintended consequences of U.S. interventionism. – Foreign Affairs
Hezbollah
Troops from the IDF’s 91st Division have carried out limited ground operations against Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon in recent days, the IDF said on Monday, in what appeared to mark a deeper push into the area. – Jerusalem Post
Israel dropped leaflets over Beirut on Friday, urging Lebanese civilians to press for Hezbollah’s disarmament in a move that combined anti-Hezbollah messaging with an apparent outreach by an IDF intelligence unit. – Jerusalem Post
A purported statement attributed to a group of Lebanese military officers calling itself the “Patriotic Officers” warned against using the Lebanese Army to confront Hezbollah, triggering a political storm in Lebanon and prompting a military inquiry amid rising tensions. – Jerusalem Post
Eighty-five percent to 90% of Hezbollah’s pre-2023 rocket arsenal has been destroyed, the IDF reported Sunday. Before the war, Hezbollah had more than 150,000 rockets, it said. By the November 2024 ceasefire, 70% to 80% of the rocket arsenal had been destroyed, the IDF said. – Jerusalem Post
The brother of an armed man who rammed his truck into a Reform synagogue and preschool in Michigan last week was a Hezbollah commander, the Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday, confirming earlier reports on the matter. – Times of Israel
Editorial: Israel, of course, is responsible for its own security. But as unlikely as its chances of success are, if there’s a glimmer of hope that French-sponsored talks between Lebanon and Israel could bear fruit – and that together, an alliance could rein in Hezbollah for good and result in peace between the neighboring countries – it’s incumbent upon Jerusalem to at least consider the French and Lebanese initiative. The bottom line is that Hezbollah must be defanged. If this can be done without Israel facing a long occupation in Lebanon and putting IDF lives at risk, that option must be explored before being rejected. – Jerusalem Post
Iraq
Three members of Iraq’s Shi’ite Popular Mobilisation Forces were killed in a strike on PMF headquarters in Baghdad earlier morning, security sources said on Saturday. – Reuters
The U.S. Embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad was hit in a missiles attack, Iraqi security sources told Reuters on Saturday. – Reuters
Dozens of Iranians crossed into northern Iraq Sunday — the first day the border had opened since war struck their country — to buy cheaper groceries, access the internet, contact relatives and find work. – Associated Press
The US Embassy in Baghdad told Americans on Saturday to leave Iraq immediately following a series of attacks targeting US nationals. – Bloomberg
Turkey
Turkey’s powerful foreign minister said Saturday that there is no serious initiative to resume negotiations between the United States and Iran but that he believes Iran is open to back-channel talks. – Associated Press
The US AN/TPY-2 radar at Kurecik in Eastern Anatolia is one of the closest early-warning systems to Iran and used to track missiles across the region. Kurecik was probably the main destination of at least one of three Iranian projectiles intercepted by NATO over the past two weeks, according to people familiar with the Turkish government’s thinking. – Bloomberg
Amine Ayoub writes: The victory doctrine must evolve from the temporary containment of threats to a theory of permanent stabilization. This means recognizing that the hard-won peace of 2026 will be nothing more than a prelude to a new and even more entrenched regional conflict if the coalition does not act with the same resolve toward this new competition as it did toward the Iranian regime. The 1919 Moment is here; the question is whether we have the strategic foresight to prevent it from becoming a 1939 Moment. The victory over the mullahs is only the first step in a much longer struggle for the soul of the Middle East. – Jerusalem Post
Lebanon
In Lebanon, the war is raging not only in the streets — it is also in hospitals and clinics. Medical workers have been killed while treating patients or trying to assist others, underscoring the human cost of the ongoing strikes. – New York Times
Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold talks in the coming days aimed at securing a durable ceasefire that would see Hezbollah disarmed, two Israeli officials said on Sunday, though the timing and terms have yet to be agreed. – Reuters
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Sunday said the UK will provide over 5 million pounds ($6.62 million) of emergency funding to support humanitarian work of the Lebanese government amid conflict in the region. – Reuters
Over an eighth of Lebanon’s territory is under Israeli orders for people to leave their homes, an aid group said on Friday, while the United Nations peacekeeping mission said Israeli ground troops were making incursions and erecting roadblocks. – Reuters
In just 10 days, more than 800,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced by war, just over a year since the last conflict uprooted over a million Lebanese from their homes. That’s one in every seven people in the tiny country, according to humanitarian organization the Norwegian Refugee Council. – Associated Press
Lebanon has accepted a French proposal as a basis for peace talks with Israel, while Israel and the United States are still reviewing the framework, Axios reported on Saturday, citing three sources familiar with the details. – Jerusalem Post
Gulf States
Four decades ago, in the middle of a different war in the Persian Gulf, the rulers of Dubai started Emirates, an airline that would defy the odds and become one of the world’s largest and most profitable carriers. – New York Times
Iran’s relations with Gulf states will require a “serious review” in light of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, limiting the power of external actors so the region can become prosperous, Tehran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia told Reuters on Sunday. – Reuters
Dubai authorities brought under control on Monday a fire caused by a drone attack near the city’s international airport that forced a temporary suspension of flights, though no injuries were reported, they said. – Reuters
Aluminium Bahrain (ALBH.BH), known as Alba, said on Sunday it had initiated a shutdown of three aluminium smelting lines accounting for 19% of its capacity to preserve business continuity amid ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. – Reuters
Oil loading operations have been suspended at the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah, two sources told Reuters on Monday, after a drone attack sparked a fire in the emirate’s petroleum industrial zone. – Reuters
Iran urged people Saturday to evacuate the Middle East’s busiest port and two others in the United Arab Emirates, openly threatening a neighboring country’s non-U.S. assets for the first time as its war with the United States and Israel entered a third week. – Associated Press
Emirates said it will resume limited services at Dubai’s main international airport after a drone incident caused a suspension of flights hours earlier, the latest incident to set back the aviation hub’s efforts to normalize operations as the Iran conflict enters its third week. – Bloomberg
Middle East & North Africa
Algerian army units killed seven armed militants in two separate counterterrorism operations in the northeastern province of Tebessa, while three soldiers were also killed in the clashes, the defence ministry said on Friday. – Reuters
The World Health Organization said on Sunday it had released $2 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) to support the health response in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria amidst the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. – Reuters
France’s government is bolstering the country’s military presence in the Middle East, dispatching its aircraft carrier and other warships, while President Emmanuel Macron engages with key players in the conflict, including Iran, in a bid to position Paris for future diplomatic talks. – Associated Press
Pope Leo XIV demanded a ceasefire in the Middle East on Sunday in his strongest comments to date, directly addressing the leaders who launched the war in Iran. – Associated Press
Since Syria’s new government seized power from the Assad regime in December 2024, minorities have faced abductions, sexual violence, and arbitrary detentions, according to an independent international commission of inquiry report published on Thursday by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. – Jerusalem Post
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have so far remained on the sidelines as the Iran war widens across the Middle East, raising questions about why — and when the battle-hardened group might join the fight. – Times of Israel
Korean Peninsula
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a live-fire exercise for one of his top military priorities: an upgraded rocket launcher able to fire tactical nukes. In a Sunday report by state media, North Korea said the drill featured a dozen 600 mm, “ultra-precision” rocket launchers and two artillery companies. – Wall Street Journal
South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party said on Monday that the government will lift limits on coal-fired power generation capacity and raise nuclear power plant utilisation to as high as 80% as part of an energy response to the Middle East crisis. – Reuters
North Korea held an election for the Supreme People’s Assembly on Sunday, state media KCNA said, to select delegates to the legislature that formally approves state policy and appoints the country’s top officials. – Reuters
North Korea on Saturday fired about 10 ballistic missiles toward the eastern sea, South Korea’s military said, staging its own show of force as the rival South conducts a joint military exercise with the United States. – Associated Press
China
Taiwan reported a burst of Chinese military flights into the skies near its main island on Sunday, as Beijing resumed a practice of what Taipei describes as harassment that had recently—and mysteriously—gone quiet. – Wall Street Journal
The Philippine foreign ministry said on Monday it rejected Beijing’s assertion of jurisdiction over the entire South China Sea, asserting what it called Manila’s “indivisible, incontrovertible and longstanding sovereignty” over Scarborough Shoal and Thitu Island. – Reuters
Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials were due to conclude talks in Paris on Monday, with potential areas of agreement in agriculture, critical minerals and managed trade that could be taken up by U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, sources familiar with the discussions said. – Reuters
President Donald Trump is suggesting he may delay his much-anticipated visit to China at the end of the month as he seeks to ramp up the pressure on Beijing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and calm oil prices that have soared during the Iran war. – Associated Press
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office rejected remarks by Taiwan’s President Lai Ching‑te linking democracy with sovereignty, calling the argument misleading. Democracy cannot be used as a basis for asserting statehood, China Central Television reported Saturday, citing a spokesperson who accused Lai of heightening cross‑strait tensions by portraying the mainland as a threat. – Bloomberg
John Spencer writes: China invested heavily in Tehran, bought its oil, supplied technology, and helped Iran circumvent sanctions. Yet when conflict arrived Beijing largely limited its response to diplomatic statements. That reality will be noticed in capitals across the developing world where governments have been courted by China’s offers of “strategic partnership.” Partnership implies support, not distance, when pressure arrives. The broader lesson is one that has shaped international politics for centuries: Strength shapes strategy. The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy emphasized restoring American military and economic strength to counter Beijing’s expansion. The war with Iran shows that idea being carried out. – Wall Street Journal
South Asia
Pakistan imports more than 85 percent of its crude oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by way of a single maritime route snaking through the Strait of Hormuz. The escalating conflict in the region has blocked that route and shocked Pakistan’s already fragile economy. – New York Times
Pakistan bombed the fuel depot of private airline Kam Air near Afghanistan’s Kandahar airport, the ruling Taliban said on Friday, stepping up the neighbours’ worst conflict in years, despite China’s efforts to mediate. – Reuters
Pakistan targeted Taliban installations and “terrorist hideouts” in Afghanistan’s Kandahar during overnight strikes, the Pakistan Information Minister said in a post on X on Sunday. – Reuters
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in a phone call that disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue and consultation, not force, the foreign ministry said in a statement published on Friday. – Reuters
India will hold off on signing a trade deal with the United States for several months, four Indian sources said, as fresh investigations by President Donald Trump’s administration into what it calls excess industrial capacity among trading partners add new friction after an early understanding last month. – Reuters
India has asked liquefied petroleum gas consumers to avoid panic buying of LPG cylinders and shift to piped natural gas where possible, oil ministry official Sujata Sharma said on Friday. – Reuters
Iran has allowed two Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas carriers to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, a rare exception to the Iranian blockade that has disrupted global energy supplies. – Reuters
India and Pakistan traded sharp remarks over the weekend after New Delhi commented on escalating fighting between Afghanistan and Islamabad. – Bloomberg
India will hold elections in key states in April, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party looking to extend its grip even as it grapples with an energy crisis and rising inflation tied to the crisis in Middle East. – Bloomberg
Bangladesh lifted restrictions on fuel sales, boosting supplies ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays as well as ensuring there’s enough water to irrigate paddy fields. – Bloomberg
Zalmai Nishat and Chris Blackburn write: Pakistan could also help initiate a broader regional dialogue for peace, working alongside Afghanistan’s neighbours and key regional powers. Such a process could complement an Afghan national dialogue aimed at achieving a post-Taliban political settlement and include countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Central Asian states, and India to ensure that Afghanistan no longer serves as an arena for geopolitical competition. Stability in Afghanistan could unlock connectivity between South, Central, and West Asia, facilitating trade, energy corridors, and economic integration that would benefit the entire region. Ultimately, such a process would also reinforce the United Nations-led efforts under UNAMA to build international consensus around Afghanistan’s future. For Pakistan, the strategic question remains stark: will it continue attempting to manage the Taliban, or will it embrace a broader political transformation in Afghanistan? – National Interest
Asia
Myanmar’s parliament convened on Monday for the first time since a coup five years ago, in one of the final steps in a nominal return to democracy where its powerful military retains tight control. – Reuters
Kazakhstan voted 87.15% in favour of adopting a new constitution, the Central Election Commission said on Monday. – Reuters
Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn formally opened the new parliament on Saturday, as last month’s general election result faces court scrutiny over barcodes on the ballots that may have violated the law. – Reuters
Voters in Vietnam cast their ballots to select a new National Assembly on Sunday, two months after the ruling Communist Party reelected leader To Lam to the country’s top political post. – Associated Press
Japan’s defense minister said the nation currently has no plans to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz after US President Donald Trump put pressure on Tokyo to do so ahead of a summit meeting with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi later this week. – Bloomberg
The International Energy Agency said oil from an unprecedented stockpile release will be made available immediately in Asia, where buyers are clamoring to replace barrels lost to war-related disruptions in the Middle East. – Bloomberg
Michael J. Green writes: Perhaps the most memorable description of the situation was that of a seasoned British diplomat who is said to have responded to his European counterparts’ complaints about the Reagan administration in the 1980s by acknowledging, “Everything you say about the Americans is true … but they’re the only Americans we have.” For middle powers from Ottawa to Rome to Seoul, maintaining or even expanding economic and security cooperation with the United States—supplemented by other partnerships—is still by far the most realistic strategy to maintain a favorable balance of power against Beijing, which represents the greatest disruption to the international system. Carney read the Zeitgeist at Davos. But when it comes to dealing with the rupture in the international system, it is Takaichi who really understands the geopolitics. – Foreign Affairs
Europe
An energy shock from the war in the Middle East is set to deliver a punishing blow to Europe’s economy, in a bitter twist for a region that had been hoping to accelerate growth this year after a long stretch of stagnation that angered voters across the continent. – Wall Street Journal
Explosive devices were set off at two Jewish institutions in the Netherlands within two days, Dutch officials said on Saturday, denouncing what they described as antisemitic attacks. – New York Times
The European Union has extended for six months sanctions against people and entities deemed to be supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine after a deadlock due to Hungary and Slovakia maintaining vetoes. – Reuters
Three brothers and their mother have been remanded in police custody for up to four weeks on suspicion of taking part in the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Oslo last week, a Norwegian court said in a ruling on Friday. – Reuters
Greenland’s Siumut party has withdrawn from the coalition government, the prime minister said on Friday, weakening efforts to present a united front against U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign to take control of the Arctic island. – Reuters
Sweden’s Liberal Party, the smallest of the ruling coalition, said on Friday it would back bringing the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats into government after parliamentary elections in September, boosting the right’s chance of victory. – Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he had asked Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to put an immediate end to attacks against countries in the Middle East whether directly or through proxies, including in Lebanon and Iraq. – Reuters
Hundreds of people turned out in London Sunday for an annual al-Quds Day march banned by the government after police said it was organized by a group “supportive of the Iranian regime.” – Agence France-Presse
A Greek-flagged oil tanker was damaged in a suspected drone attack in the Black Sea while approaching the Russian port of Novorossiysk, authorities said. – Associated Press
Switzerland closed its airspace for US military flights directly linked to the Iran war, citing its tradition of neutrality in armed conflicts. – Bloomberg
Germany’s environment minister urged the country to accelerate adoption of renewable power sources as a way to boost its energy security and reduce its reliance on fossil fuel. – Bloomberg
Editorial: That’s all the more reason for the EU to mobilize some $245 billion in frozen Russian assets marooned in Europe. That was the EU’s Plan A to help Ukraine but it was scuttled by Belgium, where most of the Russian cash is located. Now Hungary and Slovakia are holding Plan B hostage. Ukraine deserves better, and Russia will interpret the obstruction as another sign of European weakness. – Wall Street Journal
Martin Ivens writes: Starmer can’t send out the generals, the admirals and the intelligence chiefs to make the case for increased defense spending on their own. Where is he in this debate and where is his defense secretary, John Healey? Yvette Cooper, a foreign secretary in a panic, has sent out a tweet saying her visit to the Gulf “demonstrates the UK’s steadfast support for our regional allies facing reckless Iranian aggression.” They know something has gone badly wrong and they are playing catch-up in a crisis. If the PM and his cabinet keep staying silent or sounding uncertain, the battle to ready Britain for this more aggressive era will be lost. – Bloomberg
Richard Young writes: Combined, this all points to the need for a full-spectrum democratic resilience that can turn the tide against the radical right’s disquieting political illiberalism. For now, European attempts at democratic resilience are planted in shallow soil. The shock of U.S. President Donald Trump’s illiberal onslaught catalyzed some modest new EU democracy commitments in 2025, within and beyond Europe. However, much stronger political commitment, boldness, and innovation will be needed if these are to grow into a sturdier approach to defending and deepening European democracy. And this is not a parochial matter: Europe’s experience in democratic resilience will inform and condition efforts in other regions to push back against this era’s illiberal tide. – Foreign Policy
Africa
Less than a month into his job, the new United States ambassador to South Africa delivered some harsh words against the government. He claimed that South Africa had more than 150 laws “aimed against whites,” and that the Trump administration was “running out of patience” with the South African government. – New York Times
Madagascar’s president Michael Randrianirina said on Sunday he had appointed anti-corruption chief Mamitiana Rajaonarison as prime minister, days after dismissing the last premier along with the entire cabinet. – Reuters
Rwanda warned on Saturday that it was ready to withdraw its troops from Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, where they are helping to counter deadly insurgent attacks, if sufficient international funding for the mission is not assured. – Reuters
French medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières said on Friday it had treated over 20 people for injuries after a drone strike set fuel reserves alight in western Sudan, killing 11 people. – Reuters
S&P Global Ratings cut Botswana’s credit score late Friday, maintaining its investment grade but citing risks to fiscal stability amid diamond industry woes. The ratings company maintained a negative outlook. – Bloomberg
The Americas
But now a new generation is on the streets. Ten student activists from four universities around the country told Reuters they see real hope after the ouster of Maduro – despite the endurance of the government he headed – and feel safer speaking out now than at any point in recent history The students, ranging in age from 22 to 27, have only ever known the socialist ‘Chavismo’ government, named for former President Hugo Chavez, in power since 1999. – Reuters
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro should not be able to use Venezuelan government funds to defend himself against U.S. drug trafficking charges, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday, noting that Washington has not considered him the legitimate leader of the South American country for years. – Reuters
Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa on Friday decreed a nighttime curfew in four provinces of the Andean country, starting March 15, intended to facilitate military operations against criminal organizations with support from the United States. – Reuters
High-level Colombian officials, including the ministers of foreign relations and defense, met with their Venezuelan counterparts in Caracas on Friday in what acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez said were productive meetings, as she called for a end to U.S. sanctions against her country. – Reuters
Trinidad and Tobago’s government has received House of Representatives approval to extend a state of emergency for three months, as the twin-island Caribbean nation struggles with a high level of crime. – Associated Press
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday revoked the visa of a U.S diplomat who sought to visit a high-profile rival of the administration in prison, with Lula calling it a reciprocal measure after Brazilian officials had their visas revoked in the U.S. last year. – Associated Press
North America
When the sun sets, a growing number of Cubans are banging pots in protest against an authoritarian regime they blame for dire living conditions. In one town, residents sacked the headquarters of the ruling Communist Party, making a bonfire with the office furniture on Saturday. – Wall Street Journal
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed Friday that his government has been in talks with the Trump administration as the Communist island faces an unprecedented economic implosion, partly due to a crippling U.S. oil blockade. – Wall Street Journal
Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada may have been the odd man out, but he was also the star attraction at a meeting of the leaders of the five Nordic countries in Oslo on Sunday. – New York Times
The Canadian authorities have charged two people with murder in the death of an activist who spoke out against the Iranian regime, in what the police described on Saturday as a “targeted incident” involving people who were connected on social media. – New York Times
Canada and the five Nordic countries said on Sunday they have agreed to deepen cooperation in military procurement and other areas, in the latest push by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to build new global alliances. – Reuters
The FBI will send a team to Cuba to investigate an incursion by 10 Cuban exiles aboard a speedboat accused of provoking a gun battle with Cuban forces that killed half the infiltrators, Cuba said on Friday. – Reuters
Every day more than $4 billion worth of goods cross the United States’ borders with Canada and Mexico – U.S. auto parts headed for car factories in northern Mexico, cartons of Mexican avocados bound for California supermarkets, Canadian aluminum destined to become cans of Campbell Soup. – Associated Press
United States
President Donald Trump on Sunday endorsed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s threat to revoke broadcast licenses over news coverage of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, calling media organizations “Corrupt and Highly Unpatriotic” in a Truth Social post. – Washington Post
The State Department is drastically reducing the cost of renouncing American citizenship, ending a years long legal battle over the price of relinquishing a blue passport. – New York Times
For years, the agricultural sector has faced a tight labor market as farmworkers age and fewer new immigrants and younger Americans are willing to toil in the fields. Top Trump administration officials vowed that mass deportations would help, leading to “higher wages with better benefits” and a “100 percent American work force.” – New York Times
President Trump on Friday released two executive orders aimed at tackling the nation’s housing crisis, a day after the Senate passed a significant package of bills, and before the midterm elections, in which affordability will be a key issue for voters. – New York Times
An Afghan immigrant who previously worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan and later sought asylum in the United States died this weekend in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody less than 24 hours after being detained in Texas, a U.S. veteran-led advocacy group said on Sunday. – Reuters
The United States’ war with Iran is entering its third week, but Congress has yet to publicly test the Trump administration’s case for the conflict. – Associated Press
The Trump administration this week stepped up its ambitious effort to replace about $1.6 trillion in lost tariff revenue that was eliminated by the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a range of the president’s import taxes. – Associated Press
Two young men from Pennsylvania are accused of driving to New York City with a pair of homemade bombs before throwing them at protesters and police officers on March 7. – Fox News
Editorial: At least Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), up for reelection, seems to understand that Albany can’t indefinitely bankroll a socialist laundry list if it wants to maintain its tax base. She said that it’s important the Empire State isn’t just “taxing for the sake of taxing,” but the governor would have more credibility if she offered real spending cuts as well. A good start would be rejecting a recent union effort to undo pension reforms that save taxpayers billions of dollars. Moody’s downgraded New York City’s credit rating from stable to negative on March 11, citing “the emergence of sizable and persistent projected budget gaps.” The mayor swore the oath of office less than three months ago, and there is still plenty of room to fall further. It’s going to be a long four years. – Washington Post
Cybersecurity
Iran pulled off likely the most significant wartime cyberattack against the U.S. in history, leveraging its hacking powers to cause major disruptions at a global medical-equipment firm that struggled to bring itself back online in recent days. – Wall Street Journal
A British man has been charged under cyber-crime laws in Dubai for allegedly filming Iranian missiles over the city, UK authorities confirmed. – CNN
Ukraine is giving international partners and defense companies access to its vast trove of real combat data to train artificial intelligence models for autonomous drone systems — a move Kyiv is calling “the first initiative of its kind in the world.” – Defense News
Defense
The Pentagon identified the six service members who were killed when a U.S. refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq while supporting operations in Iran. – Washington Post
The U.S. military said on Friday it has elevated the investigation into a devastating February 28 strike on an Iranian girls’ school after media reports revealed the probe shows U.S. forces were likely responsible. – Reuters
Attempts to provide upgraded software for F-35 jets have “stagnated” and no new combat capability was delivered last year, according to the annual report by the Pentagon’s testing office, even as the fighter jets fly missions over Iran. – Bloomberg
The Navy’s oldest aircraft carrier will remain in the fleet 10 months longer than expected, according to a Friday contract announcement from the service. USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is now scheduled for decommissioning in March of 2027, rather than this coming May, the service said in a statement provided to USNI News. – UNSI News
Destroyer USS Mustin (DDG-89) recently departed San Diego to replace USS Robert Smalls (CG-62), the sea service’s last cruiser forward deployed to Japan, the Navy announced this week. – USNI News
Bruce Stubbs writes: The standard is not theoretical. The 1980s Maritime Strategy and its companion 600 ship program plan demonstrated that the Navy knows how to produce serious strategic guidance — documents built on net assessments, campaign analysis, geographic specificity, and explicit resource logic. The Maritime Strategy clearly stated the U.S. Navy would “destroy the Soviet Navy.” It named the Norwegian Sea and the Pacific as the priority theaters. The Maritime Strategy showed its work. The Fighting Instructions, as written, does none of this. It is a document that gestures at urgency while declining to do the analytical work that urgency demands. The Navy does not lack for strategic ambition. What the Fighting Instructions lacks is the analytical discipline to translate that ambition into a plan that operators can execute, planners can resource, and adversaries must reckon with. That discipline is not optional. In the current strategic environment, it is the minimum requirement for a document that bears the weight of the Navy’s warfighting future. – War on the Rocks
Long War
A jury convicted nine people on Friday for their involvement in a shooting at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Texas last year, the Justice Department said. Eight of the nine defendants were found guilty of providing material support to terrorists, rioting, conspiring to use and carry explosives, and using explosives during a riot, local media reported. – Reuters
Two young men have been placed under formal investigation in France for planning a “deadly and antisemitic” attack, the counterterrorism prosecutor’s office (PNAT) said in a statement on Sunday. – Reuters
Kevin Cohen writes: But something important survived. The ideology no longer needs territory, command structures or training camps. It travels easily, moving through digital networks and personal grievances. That makes it far harder to trace. A terrorist organization leaves clear trails. An idea doesn’t. The challenge facing Western governments today is therefore not a rebuilt caliphate abroad. It is radicalization unfolding quietly inside their own societies. If that remains unaddressed, the pattern in West Bloomfield, Norfolk, New York and Austin will keep repeating itself—one lone actor at a time. – Wall Street Journal