Ambitious Mossad plan to spark Iran uprising seems to fall short as war drags on

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b13n118r911l

Trump and Netanyahu embraced an optimistic strategy of assassinations and covert efforts to trigger unrest, but intelligence officials say fear of Iran’s security forces has so far prevented mass protests or a broader revolt

Ahead of the conflict, Mossad chief David Barnea presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an assessment that Israel could quickly help stir opposition inside Iran, potentially leading to widespread unrest and even the collapse of the government, according to U.S. officials cited by The New York Times. Barnea also discussed the idea with senior Trump administration officials during a visit to Washington in January. Netanyahu backed the approach.

Despite doubts among some American officials and Israeli intelligence analysts, both Trump and Netanyahu publicly projected confidence that a combination of military strikes and covert efforts could destabilize Iran’s leadership. The expectation was that targeting senior Iranian figures alongside efforts to encourage dissent could spark broader protests.

Watching Trump’s Monday Deadline for Iran

 https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran-war-us-israel-news-updates-2026?mod=WSJ_home_mediumtopper_pos_3

President Trump’s threat to “obliterate” Iranian power plants set off a cascade of alarm bells around the region with Tehran saying it would respond in kind. Oil-exporting Gulf countries said Iranian reprisals could further endanger the world economy.

Trump made his threat in a social-media post late Saturday, saying that if Iran doesn’t fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of the world’s oil supply, within 48 hours the U.S. would act. Iran contended that the U.S. threat raised issues under international law against targeting civilian infrastructure.

Meantime, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations warned on Sunday about Iran's potential to launch longer-range ballistic missiles that could hit much of Europe. It comes days after Iran carried out one of its farthest missile launches on record, targeting Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean.

Jeffries tells Trump to keep his 'reckless mouth shut' after president calls Democratic Party 'greatest enemy'

 https://www.foxnews.com/media/jeffries-tells-trump-keep-his-reckless-mouth-shut-after-president-calls-democratic-party-greatest-enemy

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, rebuked President Donald Trump on Sunday and said he should keep his "reckless mouth shut" after the president called Democrats the "greatest enemy" in America.

"Now with the death of Iran, the greatest enemy America has is the Radical Left, Highly Incompetent, Democratic Party! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT," the president wrote on Truth Social.

Apparent antisemitic arson attack targets Jewish ambulance service in London

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-890851

Several ambulances belonging to Jewish volunteer emergency medical service Hatzola Northwest were set ablaze in Golders Green, London, in a suspected antisemitic arson attack early on Monday morning, surveillance footage shared on social media appears to show.

The footage appears to show several hooded or masked men pouring gasoline on the vehicles before fleeing the scenes.

Four ambulances appear to have been destroyed in the incident.

Iran threatens to hit power plants in Israel, Gulf if its electricity sector is targeted

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-march-23-2026/

Iran will retaliate to an attack on its electricity sector by targeting Israel’s power plants as well as power plants supplying US bases with electricity in regional countries, a statement by the Revolutionary Guards says.

The statement seemingly retracts earlier threats to desalination plants in the region, which are crucial for providing drinking water in Gulf countries.

IDF Spokesperson: 'We are facing more weeks of fighting in all sectors'

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/424392

IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin announced that the Iranian regime is being undermined by Israel's ongoing attacks and estimated that the fighting will continue in the coming weeks.

He noted that "we fired interceptors in Dimona and Arad, but unfortunately we were unable to intercept the missiles. Our investigation revealed that the failures in the incidents are not related to each other."

"The threats we saw tonight are not new. These are missiles that were fired throughout the operation and that we have successfully intercepted in the past. We investigate every such incident. Over 95% of the launches are intercepted," he added.

Democrats seek information on Jared Kushner’s potential ‘conflicts of interest’ in Middle East

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5792597-kushner-business-middle-east-democrats/

Two top-ranking Democrats are seeking more information regarding Jared Kushner’s business dealings in the Middle East following reports that he has been attempting to shore up billions of dollars for his private equity firm while also helping lead negotiations with governments in the region.

Rep. Robert Garcia (R-Calif.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote in a letter to the White House on Thursday that they had “serious concerns” about whether Kushner, President Trump’s son in law, was being allowed to leverage his political influence for personal financial gain.

Their inquiry comes days after The New York Times reported that Kushner had recently spoken with potential foreign investors about raising $5 billion for his investment firm, Affinity Partners, citing five people with knowledge of the discussions.

The scrutiny is not new for the firm or Kushner, who previously faced accusations of an improper quid pro quo after the Saudi government, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, invested $2 billion in the company shortly after Trump left office in 2021.

Trump has consistently brushed off allegations of conflicts of interest related to his family’s business dealings, signaling before retaking office that he had no plans to divest from his companies, including Truth Social, or stop his family from engaging in overseas activities.

“I prohibited them from doing business in my first term, and I got absolutely no credit for it,” he told the Times in January. “I didn’t have to do that. And it’s really unfair to them.”

“I found out that nobody cared, and I’m allowed to.”

Who is the biggest alleged grifter in the Trump administration?

NY postal worker arrested for shoving four-year-old hassidic boy to the ground

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-890696

Video footage showed the boy approaching the mail truck before the postal worker came out and shoved the child forcefully to the ground.

The Ramapo police department announced that the 39-year-old postal worker was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and attempted assault in the third degree. 

The postal worker had reportedly been screaming at nearby children before the victim approached him.

The Tanker War: How history is repeating itself on the Strait of Hormuz

 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/22/middleeast/iran-war-history-tanker-wars-intl-hnk-ml

As President Donald Trump looks at ordering US Navy ships to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, for naval analysts and historians, there’s a distinct feeling of “been there, done that.”

Almost 40 years ago, US Navy warships were facing the same enemy they’d be facing now, the navy and the sea forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The so-called Tanker War of the late 1980s saw some of the same weapons and problems a US escort force would face today, and provides lessons on how, in war, things can go wrong quickly in unexpected ways – with deadly consequences.

It’s the oil prices, stupid: The West’s principles collapse when prices rise

 https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-890392

Because as soon as oil prices began to spike, sending energy markets into panic, raising the cost of living, and threatening already shaky economies, the tone began to shift. Subtly at first. Then more openly. Calls for “restraint.” Appeals for “de-escalation.” Thinly veiled criticisms of the very operation that, days earlier, had been quietly endorsed or at least understood.

This is the uncomfortable truth that the past weeks have exposed. For all the lofty rhetoric about human rights, democracy, and standing up to evil, the West’s moral compass appears to be calibrated, above all, by the price per barrel.

Of course, governments must consider economic consequences. No responsible leader can ignore the impact of rising fuel costs on ordinary citizens. But there is a difference, an enormous, consequential difference, between weighing economic factors and allowing them to dictate one’s entire moral posture.

What we are witnessing now is the latter. It is the quiet recalibration of principles in the face of economic discomfort. It is the willingness to tolerate, excuse, or even indirectly empower a regime like Iran because confronting it has become inconvenient.

IDF strikes Tehran after Iranian missile barrages wound almost 200 in southern Israel

 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/2026-03-22/live-updates-890731

At least 84 wounded in Arad, at least 78 wounded across Dimona after Iranian missile barrages • Mojtaba Khamenei "alive, but IRGC currently running Iran" • Trump threatens strikes if Hormuz not open

Over 100 injured, 11 seriously, in Iranian missile strikes on southern cities of Arad, Dimona

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/over-100-injured-11-seriously-in-iranian-missile-strikes-on-southern-cities-of-arad-dimona/

Over 100 people were injured by Iranian strikes in the southern cities of Dimona and Arad on Saturday, 11 of them seriously, medics said, after Israeli air defenses failed to intercept at least two ballistic missiles.

Iranian state media said the strikes were targeting Israel’s nuclear research facility, located some 10 kilometers (six miles) outside of Dimona and 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) outside of Arad, in retaliation for an alleged US attack on Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility earlier in the day. Iran blamed that attack on the US and Israel, though the IDF denied any involvement.

The military said the Israeli Air Force was investigating the failure to intercept both ballistic missiles. It confirmed air defenses had engaged both projectiles, but the interceptors failed to knock them down.

Robert Mueller, who probed Russia’s 2016 election meddling, dies; Trump: ‘Good, I’m glad’

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/robert-mueller-who-probed-russias-2016-election-meddling-dies-trump-good-im-glad/

Robert Mueller, the no-nonsense former FBI chief who documented Russia’s interference in the 2016 US election and its contacts with Donald Trump’s campaign but opted not to bring criminal charges against a sitting president, has died at age 81, multiple news outlets reported on Saturday.

Mueller retired after 12 years as Federal Bureau of Investigation director in 2013 but was summoned back to public service by a senior Justice Department official four years later as a special counsel to take over an inquiry into Russia’s election meddling after Trump fired then-FBI chief James Comey.

Trump on Saturday celebrated Mueller’s passing. “Good, I’m glad he’s dead,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social site. “He can no longer hurt innocent people!”

“Based on Justice Department policy and principles of fairness, we decided we would not make a determination as to whether the president committed a crime,” Mueller told lawmakers.

“The president was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed,” Mueller added.