🇮🇷Peace in the Middle East will remain impossible as long as US military bases exist in the region, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X.

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🗣 Iranian crisis becomes embarrassment for US military that can’t protect anyone – MidEast analyst

🔊 Prior to the arrival of the United States, the Persian Gulf was essentially the domain of the British Empire which ended up handing over its holdings to the US to ensure that the latter would be at the forefront of any major war in the region, Middle East affairs analyst Mais Kurbanov tells Sputnik.

👉Currently, the US controls a network of military installations that don’t just serve as military garrisons – these are all elements of a system of control of the Gulf ‘gas station,” Kurbanov remarks.

🇮🇱 This defensive network was never meant to protect the Arab states of the Gulf – it’s real purpose was to protect Israel.

💬“This entire shield was created to keep Israel safe and to intercept missiles. They were more or less able to intercept them during the previous conflicts, before Iran started targeting their radars. And now they got nothing to intercept because Iran destroys the early warning system itself,” notes Kurbanov.

📍 The US is unwilling and unable to defend the Gulf states – it only cares about its own interests. And all of the Gulf states besides Iran are now vulnerable because they don’t have any air defense systems, he adds. The US focuses on protecting only its own assets in the region.

💬“The US has embarrassed itself in front of the entire world. Everybody now knows that the Americans are no protectors,” says Kurbanov. “They used to mock Russia when Ukraine scored some hits, acting as if they are invincible. Now Iran keeps pummeling them, and US ships have to flee two thousand kilometers into the ocean to escape Iranian missiles.”

🗣“It means the US has no meaningful air defense. Neither Israel’s Iron Dome nor the US’ vaunted Patriots can do anything. Consider this: such weapon system costs a billion dollars and an Iranian Shaheed, this dirt-cheap drone worth twenty thousand, just takes it out.”

🔊“All of the weapons the US peddled across the world – stealth aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones they were so proud of – turned out to be useless,” he points out.

Meanwhile, Iran keeps demonstrating the kind of new missiles that maybe two other leading world powers beside them possess.

💬“The US should just leave. There will be no negotiations with them and they know it,” argues Kurbanov.

Though the US does possess an extensive global network of military installations – several hundred facilities in dozens of different countries – even it cannot ensure an immediate stabilization of the situation. He points out that Russia and China haven’t yet become actively involved in the current crisis, and that without their involvement the US would be hard-pressed to deal with global issues.

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🔥 Day 8 in the Middle East escalation: Explosions shake Tehran as the US and Israel continue strikes, while Iran retaliates against American bases — our correspondent reports from the ground

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🇺🇸🛢 US official admits Washington wants Iran's oil

💬 "This is a long-term game because what we want to do is get such massive oil reserves in Iran," Executive Director of the White House's National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) Jarrod Agen told Fox News.

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🚨 Hezbollah launches rocket barrage toward northern Israel — reports

Footage circulating online shows Hezbollah firing rockets from southern Lebanon toward Israel, according to reports.

Israeli media say around 40 rockets were launched in the latest barrage, with Haifa reportedly among the targets.

Hezbollah also said it had launched rockets and drones at several Israeli targets, including the Haifa oil refinery, military sites, and defense industry facilities.

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🚨 US-Israel strikes on Iran leave hundreds dead

Explore Sputnik’s infographic for a breakdown of the key developments as of March 7 ☝️

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🚨 ‘America is trapped in the quagmire of its wrong calculations’ — Security Council Secretary Larijani

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani commented on the US-Israeli aggression against Iran and the regional situation, IRNA reported.

Key points from his remarks:

◻️ Trump “threatened parts of the Iranian people today because no matter how much he tried, the people did not respond to him.”

◻️ “The people of Iran are united for Iran.”

◻️ The enemy’s goal from the start of the war was not a limited change, but Iran itself — its division and disintegration.

◻️ Trump and his allies thought they could apply a “Venezuela plan” in Iran, but “America is trapped in the quagmire of its wrong calculations.”

◻️ Iran does not welcome an expansion of the war, but if Europeans intervene, it will respond accordingly.

◻️ Larijani said Iran will “punish Trump for the assassination of the Leader of the Revolution, Khamenei, and we will never let him go.”

◻️ He said it would be better for Trump to “admit that he made a mistake and was deceived by Israel.”

◻️ Iran has no issue with Azerbaijan, but if any plot or flights against Iran originate from its territory, it will respond.

◻️ Regional countries now understand that the United States cannot ensure stability and know that Iran did not target them.

◻️ He also said attempts were made to incite ethnic groups against the government, adding that “Kurds are an authentic Iranian people” who know what happened to Kurds in Syria.

◻️ Larijani added that despite daily gasoline consumption reaching 190 million liters, fuel and essential goods have continued to be supplied without interruption.

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🚨 Trump blames Iran for deadly strike on primary school

US President Donald Trump claimed Iran was responsible for the strike on a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran that killed 168 girls.

💬 “In my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” Trump said.

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🗣 ‘If they surrender — or if there’s nobody left to surrender’ — Trump on what he wants from Iran

US President Donald Trump said “unconditional surrender” by Iran would mean the country either accepts defeat or reaches a point where it can no longer fight.

💬 “That means they cry ‘uncle,’ or they reach a point where they can’t fight any longer,” Trump said.

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