Tag: iran

Defense giants cash in as Iran conflict escalates

Defense contractors are winning on Wall Street, as the uncertainty of a war with Iran and increased tension in the Middle East continue to fuel substantial gains in the stock market. 

While oil prices surged the highest Monday, jumping more than 6% over fears of a global supply shortage, companies that build military equipment weren’t far behind — Lockheed Martin and RTX, formerly known as Raytheon, gained 3.3% and 4.7% respectively.

Shares of Northrop Grumman jumped the highest, ending the day up about 6%. 

As the DOW Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% and the S&P 500 finished flat, all three of the world’s largest defense contractors hit new 52-week highs, according to Barron’s. 

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Trump and Hegseth Won’t Rule Out Sending Troops to Iran for a Mission They Won’t Define

President Trump said in an interview with The New York Post on Monday that he won’t rule out sending troops into Iran as the war the US and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic on Saturday morning continues to rage.

“I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground — like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” Trump told the paper. “I say ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘if they were necessary.’”

Earlier in the day, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth held a press briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, where he also refused to rule out sending troops into Iran and went on a tangent about how the US military doesn’t need to brief the American people on its plans.

When asked if there were currently US “boots on the ground” in Iran, Hegseth said, “No, but we’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do. I think it’s one of those fallacies for a long time that this department or presidents or others should tell the American people this — and our and our enemies, by the way — here’s exactly what we’ll do.”

Hegseth also contradicted Trump’s earlier remarks by saying it was not a “regime change war,” but he added that the “regime sure did change,” though the Iranian government remains intact despite the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which hasn’t slowed the Iranian military’s response.

While insisting the US wouldn’t get into an open-ended conflict or “quagmire” in Iran, Hegseth did not directly answer when asked what the administration’s “exit strategy ” is, as neither he nor Trump has clearly defined the goal. “As far as time frame, I would never hang a time frame from our perspective. The commander-in-chief sets the tempo and terms of this fight,” he said.

Trump previously estimated that the war could last four to five weeks, but said on Monday that the US has the capability to go “far longer” than that.

Caine said during the briefing with Hegseth that the US was deploying more troops and fighter jets into the region. “This work is just beginning and will continue,” he said.

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Megyn Kelly Under Fire After Claiming US Service Members ‘Died for Iran or Israel’ — “This Feels Very Much to Me Like it is Clearly Israel’s War”

Megyn Kelly is facing fierce backlash after suggesting that American service members killed in the escalating conflict with Iran “died for Iran or for Israel,” rather than for the United States.

During a recent episode of her show, Kelly questioned the purpose of U.S. involvement, arguing that the war effort appears to be driven by foreign interests rather than American national security.

Megyn Kelly:
Look, there are massive divisions over what we’ve done here, and people are going to change their minds over the coming days and weeks, one way or the other. But my own feeling is that no one should have to die for a foreign country. I don’t think those four service members died for the United States. I think they died for Iran or for Israel.

I understand how this helps Iran perfectly well. I get it. I mean, I hope long term we’ll see. But they seem rather jubilant. Eighty percent of the country does not support the Ayatollah. He was a terrible, terrible man. No one’s crying that he’s dead — no normal person.

But our government’s job is not to look out for Iran or for Israel. It’s to look out for us. This feels very much, to me, like it is clearly Israel’s war. Mark Levin wanted it. It’s his war. Ben Shapiro, Lindsey Graham, Miriam Adelson — that’s obvious. They’re the ones who’ve been pushing us into it.

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US Death Toll From Iran Operation Rises to 6 Troops

Six U.S. service members have been killed in action in the U.S. war with Iran, as of March 2.

The Pentagon announced that the remains of two military members have been recovered.

“U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran’s initial attacks in the region,” said U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in a statement on X.

“Major combat operations continue. The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification.”

So far, 18 U.S. service members have been seriously wounded, a CENTCOM spokesperson said.

The U.S.–Israeli military strikes on Iran have destroyed 11 ships belonging to the Iranian regime, according to the Pentagon.

“Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, today they have ZERO,” CENTCOM said in a March 2 statement on X.

The military went on to say that the Iranian regime had used those ships to harass and attack international ships moving through the Gulf of Oman for years.

“Those days are over,” CENTCOM said. “Freedom of maritime navigation has underpinned American and global economic prosperity for more than 80 years. U.S. forces will continue to defend it.”

The conflict is far from over, according to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said in a same-day interview that more attacks on Iran are ahead.

“I’m not going to give away the details of our tactical efforts, but the hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military,” Rubio told reporters before briefing senior members of Congress on the conflict.

“The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now.”

The secretary of state said there are currently no diplomatic talks with Iran, although “we always have people that reach out from inside of governments.”

“You don’t know if they’re authorized to reach out or not. They’re suffering a tremendous amount of damage,” he said.

As of the afternoon, Rubio told reporters that the Trump administration’s objectives are to destroy Iran’s ballistic missile infrastructure, including its missile manufacturing and launch capabilities, but that these objectives can be achieved without American boots on the ground in Iran.

“Right now, we’re not postured for ground forces, but obviously, the president has those options,” Rubio said. “He’s never going to rule out anything.”

President Donald Trump told The New York Post that he hasn’t ruled out sending service members to Iran if necessary. 

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US Media Mostly Care for Iranians When They Can Be Used to Justify Bombing

The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, propelling the entire region into a predictable cataclysm of unprecedented proportions.

This puts paid to the alleged “peacemaking” project of US President Donald Trump, who was supposed to be keeping the country out of international wars rather than actively seeking to expedite the end of the world.

The attacks put an abrupt end to the negotiations underway between the US and Iran—to the delight of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has always viewed as anathema anything remotely resembling diplomacy or the pursuit of peace.

‘Trigger Iran to retaliate’

Three days before the joint strikes, a Politico exclusive (2/25/26) reported that “senior advisers” to Trump “would prefer Israel strike Iran before the United States launches an assault on the country.” As per the report, administration officials were “privately arguing that an Israeli attack would trigger Iran to retaliate, helping muster support from American voters for a US strike.”

So much for subsequent US/Israeli attempts to cast the assault as “preemptive” in nature. Indeed, there is nothing at all “preemptive” about forcing Iran to retaliate; this is instead what you would call a deliberate provocation.

Unfortunately for the “senior advisers,” Trump and Netanyahu ultimately opted to pull the trigger simultaneously, thus depriving the US administration of its fabricated casus belli.

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US Embassy in Saudi Arabia hit in suspected Iranian drone attack: reports

The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital city of Riyadh was damaged in a suspected Iranian drone attack Monday night.

The embassy was hit by two drones, “resulting in a limited fire and minor material damage to the building,” a spokesperson for the Saudi defense ministry wrote on X.

A loud blast was heard, and a small fire was seen at the embassy,  Reuters reported. 

“The U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia has issued a shelter in place notification for Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran and are limiting non-essential travel to any military installations in the region,” a “security alert” posted by the Riyadh embassy on X read.

“We recommend American citizens in the Kingdom to shelter in place immediately.”

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Deadly Texas bar shooting ‘potentially act of terrorism’, FBI says

Two people were killed and over a dozen injured in a shooting outside a beer garden in Austin, Texas, in an incident the FBI says may be related to terrorism.

Austin police identified the suspect as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne. He was a naturalised American citizen born in Senegal, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News and other US media.

After responding to calls of an active shooter at around 02:00 local time (08:00 GMT) on Sunday near Buford’s bar in the southern US state’s capital, police said they shot and killed the suspect, bringing the death toll to three.

Police have not offered a motive for the shooter. Of the survivors, 14 were taken to hospital, three in a critical condition.

Two sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News that the gunman was wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Property of Allah”.

CBS was also told by an official with knowledge of the investigation that officers who searched the gunman’s home found an Iranian flag and pictures of Iranian leaders. The attack came on the weekend that the US and its ally Israel launched multiple strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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Top Hezbollah Political Chief Muhammad Ra’ad Assassinated in Beirut — Major Blow to Iran’s Terror Proxy Network in Lebanon

Top Hezbollah political leader Muhammad Ra’ad, head of the group’s parliamentary faction and one of Iran’s most prominent proxies in Lebanese politics, has reportedly been assassinated in Beirut.

According to the Israeli war room, Ra’ad, who led the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc in Lebanon’s Parliament since 2000 and was a key figure rejecting disarmament and advocating for Hezbollah’s armed domination, was killed in precision strikes early Monday.

According to MTV Lebanon (Murr Television), a leading independent Lebanese television station:

“Event”: Assassination of MP Muhammad Raad in an Israeli airstrike

According to Al-Hadath, a Saudi Arabian state-owned, Arabic-language satellite news channel:

Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath sources reported on Monday morning that the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad, was killed in the Israeli raids. The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported an initial toll of 31 dead and 149 wounded from the Israeli raids on Lebanon.

This comes as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asserted that launching rockets at Israel harms efforts to spare Lebanon from regional conflict, while our correspondents reported the closure of all schools and educational institutions in Lebanon by a decision of the Ministry of Education.

Aoun stated in a statement that “the launching of missiles from Lebanese territory at dawn today targets all the efforts and endeavors made by the Lebanese state to keep Lebanon away from the dangerous military confrontations taking place in the region.”

Hezbollah had previously claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks on Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

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Britain, France and Germany Say They Could Join Attacks on Iran Through ‘Necessary and Proportionate Defensive Action’

Britain, France and Germany have said they may be willing to join U.S. military action in Iran.

In a joint statement on Sunday, the three countries pledged to protect their interests and those of their Gulf allies, stating the possible need “defensive action” against Iran if required.

“E3 leaders are appalled by the indiscriminate and disproportionate missile attacks launched by Iran against countries in the region, including those who were not involved in initial US and Israeli military operations,” they wrote.

The statement continued:

Iran’s reckless attacks have targeted our close allies and are threatening our service personnel and our civilians across the region.We call on Iran to stop these reckless attacks immediately.

We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source.

We have agreed to work together with the US and allies in the region on this matter.

France has already deployed its Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier from the Baltic Sea to the eastern Mediterranean in anticipation of joining the operation.

The joint statement came as the U.S. and Israel continued to pound targets across Iran on Sunday, with U.S. B-2 stealth bombers striking ballistic missile facilities using 2,000-pound bombs.

President Trump announced on social media that nine Iranian warships had been sunk and that Iran’s naval headquarters had been “largely destroyed.”

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U.S. Has Struck Over a Thousand Targets in Iran

United States forces have now struck over a thousand targets in Iran, with Israeli forces hitting a thousand more, as Operation Epic Fury continues its devastating takedown of the current regime in Iran.

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, U.S. and Israeli forces began the strikes that have now eliminated numerous Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Chief Mohammad Pakpour. Besides high-profile targets like Khamenei’s residence, there were numerous other terrorist/military targets around Iran.

U.S. Central Command has been bombarding the Iranian regime, with three casualties on the U.S. side and many, many more on the Iranian side. Multiple Israeli and American officials have urged the Persian people to rise up and take back their country, as has exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper lauded his troops, saying: “The President ordered bold action, and our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, March 1:

Israel and the U.S. have struck 2,000 targets since the start of their joint military campaign in Iran on Saturday morning, according to two people briefed on the operation. The Israeli military said it has fired thousands of munitions and flown more than 700 sorties in Iran since Saturday morning.

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