U.S. President Donald J. Trump in a post earlier on TruthSocial: “Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf. This will be available to all Shipping Lines. If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The Russian-flagged LNG tanker ARCTIC METAGAZ is ablaze about 150nm southeast of the Island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea, according to preliminary reports and yet unconfirmed video footage. The vessel, which is sanctioned under U.S. and UK sanctions reportedly suffered an explosion before catching fire, leading analysts to speculate that the vessel may have fallen victim to a Ukrainian naval drone. If true, it would be the second such targeting of a sanctioned vessel by Ukraine in the Mediterranean.

As threats by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to close the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping continue to escalate, amidst the ongoing war in the Middle East, traders on Polymarket are becoming confident that Iran will attempt to fully close the Strait by the end of March.

Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, an Iranian politician, cleric, and eldest son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been elected the next Supreme Leader of Iran under pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to Iran International.

Amidst reports of renewed air sirens in Tel Aviv, Israel, a massive explosion could be heard on live cams focused on the city, as Iran and the U.S./Israel continue to exchange reciprocal strikes that have drawn in Gulf powers and European powers.

An Iranian one-way attack drone has struck the CIA’s Station in Saudi Arabia, in what will likely be labeled a significant symbolic victory by the Islamic Republic, sources tell The Washington Post.

The United States and Israel are seeking to foment an armed uprising inside Iran using a Kurdish fighting force, which has been built up since the Twelve-Day War in 2025, according to ITV News. Sources claim that since last year, weapons have been smuggled into Western Iran to arm thousands of Kurdish volunteers. They are expected to begin a ground operation within days, with possible air cover by the U.S. and Israeli Air Force.

The Qatari Ministry of Defense reports that two ballistic missiles were launched tonight by Iran at the territory of Qatar, with one being successfully intercepted by air defense while the other struck Al Udeid Air Base near Doha.

Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal after a closed-door briefing earlier by senior officials in the Trump Administration on the ongoing war with Iran: “I just want to say, I am more fearful than ever after this briefing that we may be putting boots on the ground and that troops from the United States may be necessary to accomplish objectives that the administration seems to have, but I also am no more clear on what the priorities are going to be of the administration going forward, whether it is destroying the nuclear capacity of Iran or simply the missiles or regime change or stopping terrorist activities. I think the administration owes it to the American people to have briefings not just for members of Congress but for the American public. Nothing here should be classified, it should be available to the American people.”

The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN, appearing to confirm earlier reporting from ITV News.

The Trump Administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in both Iran and Iraq about providing them with military support, sources said, with President Trump said to have spoken Tuesday with the President of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), Mustafa Hijri.

Iranian Kurdish opposition forces are expected to take part in a ground operation in Western Iran, in the coming days, according to senior Iranian Kurdish official, with the idea being for Kurdish paramilitary forces to take on the Iranian security forces and pin them down to make it easier for unarmed Iranians in the major cities to turn out without getting massacred again as they were during unrest in January.

According to CBS News, U.S. officials have provided details on what was targeted by USAF B-2 stealth bombers in Iran in the past few days. Sources told CBS that command-and-control (C2) nodes of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), weapons depots, and assembly facilities for Iran's rocket program were all targeted in the strikes carried out by B-2 Spirits.

Per CBS News, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut has said that U.S. President Donald J. Trump has "refused to take off the table the insertion of ground troops" inside Iran during a senatorial briefing today.

Early reports from local news outlets indicate possible Iranian strikes on Iraq's Talil Air Base and Balad Air Base, where F-16s with the Iraqi Air Force are based. These reports are yet unconfirmed.

The U.S. Department of War (DOW) has now released the names of the first four U.S. soldiers killed since the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran began.

Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.

Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.

Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.

Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa

The soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa. Per the DOW release, the investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

According to CNN, the House Oversight Committee is expanding its investigation into convicted sex offender and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, requesting voluntary interviews with seven individuals in April, May, and June:

Bill Gates: May 19
Doug Band: May 5
Leon Black: May 13
Kathryn Ruemmler: April 21
Ted Waitt: April 16
Lesley Groff: June 9
Sarah Kellen: June 3

Full update on Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing strike campaign against Iran, from the Commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Adm. Brad Cooper:

Satellite imagery from Planet Labs has now confirmed claims made by a number of Iranian-affiliated channels over the last few days, that an Iranian one-way attack drone, or other projectile, was able to successful impact and significantly damage the U.S. Space Force’s AN/FPS-132 (Block 5) Ballistic Missile Early Warning Radar System in Qatar, which is worth roughly $1.1 billion and is the largest radar operated by the United States in the Middle East.

Image credit: @planet