🚨 Air defenses activated at US Victoria base in Baghdad — reports

Air defense systems at the US Victoria base in Baghdad were seen attempting to intercept a drone, according to footage circulating on social media.

The Victoria base, located inside Baghdad International Airport, is used by the US military.

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⚔️🚁 Hezbollah repels Israeli helicopter landing attempt in eastern Lebanon - statement

Hezbollah said its fighters repelled an Israeli helicopter landing attempt in the eastern mountain region of Lebanon earlier in the day.

According to the group’s statement, around 15 Israeli helicopters entered the area from the Syrian direction and flew over several villages, including Janta, Yahfoufa, Nabi Chit, Arsal and Ras Baalbek.

Hezbollah said an infantry force was deployed from some of the helicopters and that its fighters engaged the troops and aircraft, adding that the confrontation was ongoing at the time of the statement.

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📹 US air defenses engage drones over Erbil — reports

Footage circulating online appears to show US air defense systems firing to intercept drones over Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The system seen in the video appears to be C-RAM (Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar), a base defense system that uses radar-guided automatic guns to intercept incoming threats.

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📄 Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new Supreme Leader?

🔹 Mojtaba Khamenei was elected Iran’s new Supreme Leader on March 9 by the Assembly of Experts, following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an Israeli airstrike.

🔹 Born September 8, 1969, in Mashhad, he is the second son of Ali Khamenei and has long been considered one of the most influential figures inside the leader’s office.

🔹 After finishing school, he studied religious sciences in Qom, Iran’s main theological center.

🔹 In his youth he participated in the Iran-Iraq War, serving in the “Mohammad Rasulollah” division, where he developed ties with future figures in Iran’s security establishment.

🔹 Although he never held formal government posts, Mojtaba Khamenei was widely seen as a powerful behind-the-scenes figure and a key aide to his father.

🔹 He has close ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and is known for supporting a hardline approach in foreign policy.

🔹 He is married to the daughter of Ghulam Ali Haddad Adel, a prominent conservative politician, strengthening his connections with Iran’s political elite.

🔹 In recent years he taught religious jurisprudence (fiqh) in Qom, where he increasingly came to be referred to as “Ayatollah.”

🔹 In 2019, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Mojtaba Khamenei as part of measures targeting figures close to Iran’s leadership.

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🇺🇸❌ US tries to evade responsibility for girls' school massacre with blatant lies - expert

American claims that Iran is to blame for the strike on girls’ school in Tehran indicates clear political confusion in the face of Iran's unexpected resilience and the failure of the US military strategy, professor of public international law Dr. Mohammed Mehran tells Sputnik.

👉 Numerous facts — reports, satellite images, testimonies — show the strike was conducted either by US Tomahawk missiles or Israeli laser-guided bombs, he says, adding that with such accurate weapons the attack cannot be "accidental."

Current US statements about Iran being to blame are psychological warfare, and America has used similar tactics before — in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, where civilian deaths were explained away by "intelligence errors," the expert reminds.

The US is in a deadlock — it failed to achieve the original military objectives of collapsing the Iranian political system, and now is faced with growing internal criticism, Mehran concluded, which might push the US towards even more dangerous moves.

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💵 Oil at $119: But real chaos depends on Iran and Hormuz

💬 "Short-term attacks and local disruptions can push Brent to $100 per barrel, but a sustained range above this level requires a significant reduction in exports from Iran, Qatar, and some OPEC members," Russian expert Igbal Guliyev tells Sputnik.

With the US and Israel’s war on Iran raging, Brent crude prices have already soared to $119 per barrel, marking the highest trading level since 2022.

Guliyev believes that Brent staying above $100 a barrel would only become a reality in scenarios of a prolonged crisis around the Strait of Hormuz.

💬 "This is no longer a matter of the market, but of geopolitics and a forceful scenario in the Middle East," the expert concluded.

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🔸 Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new Supreme Leader?

🔸 Media may keep quiet on Gulf crisis to avoid economic destabilization – ecologist

🔸 US National Guard soldier dies during medical emergency in Kuwait — CENTCOM

🔸 Casualties from the US-Israeli attack on Iran continue to rise

🔸 Ending Iran war will be ‘mutual’ decision with Netanyahu — Trump

🔸 Iran launches Wave 30 of missile and drone strikes — IRGC

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🇮🇷 Iran FM: US strikes launched from residential areas in neighboring countries

Esmaeil Baqaei, Iranian FM spokesman, published footage that he says documents how American forces have been launching attacks on Iran from residential areas in neighboring countries and using their airspace for fighter jets.

In a post on X, Baghaei addressed those who "persistently ignore the logic of our defensive strikes on US military bases in the region":

💬 "Missiles are launched at Iran from the territory of neighboring countries, specifically near residential areas. US fighter jets also use the airspace of neighboring states to attack Iran, putting regional security at risk."

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🚨 Israel strikes Lebanon's Dahiyeh, Yediot reports

The strike reportedly hit a branch of Hezbollah's financial institution in Beirut's southern suburbs.

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🇺🇸🇮🇱⚔️ 🇮🇷US–Israel war against Iran: Latest updates

🔸 Iran's Assembly of Experts has chosen Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader

🔸 Israeli military carried out a further "wave of extensive strikes" against Iran overnight

🔸 Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps retaliated with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, Iraq, Jordan, and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets

🔸 Explosions were heard across Gulf states, with at least 32 injured in Bahrain during an Iranian drone attack, according to state media

🔸 US military base near Erbil Airport in Iraq was reportedly attacked by an Iranian drone

🔸 Another US service member has died in the war with Iran, bringing America’s death toll to seven

🔸 US is “likely” responsible for the February 28 bombing of a girls' school in Minab, Iran that killed 168 people, many of them children, CBS news reported

Statements

🔶 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed to step up attacks on US targets across the Middle East, saying, "When we are attacked, we have no choice but to respond"

🔶 Donald Trump indicated he has no timetable for the Iran war, telling reporters, "I never project that—whatever it takes"

🔶 Trump also made it clear that Iran’s new supreme leader is “going to have to get approval” from the United States, and “if he doesn't get approval from us, he's not going to last long.”

🔶 Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi condemned US and Israeli attacks against Iran as "both immoral and illegal," but added that Iran's retaliation against neighboring countries is "deeply regrettable”

🔶 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that before his country could even consider a ceasefire, the US and Israel “have to explain why they started this aggression"

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🇷🇺 Putin congratulates Mojtaba Khamenei on becoming Iran’s Supreme Leader

🔊 Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Mojtaba Khamenei on his election as the new Supreme Leader of Iran, the Kremlin said.

🟠 In his message, Putin reaffirmed Russia’s unchanging support for Tehran and expressed solidarity with the Iranian people amid the ongoing confrontation in the region. He noted that Iran is currently facing armed aggression and said the responsibilities of the country’s new leader will require courage and dedication.

🟠 Putin also expressed confidence that Mojtaba Khamenei would continue the work of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and unite the Iranian people in the face of serious challenges. The Russian president stressed that Russia has been and will remain a reliable partner of the Islamic Republic.

🟠 Putin wished the newly elected Supreme Leader success in addressing the difficult tasks ahead and strength of spirit in leading the country.

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIAN MOD UPDATE: HUGE GAINS AND DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES

⚡️GOLUBOVKA IN DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC LIBERATED

📍 The liberation of the settlement opens the way for an offensive on Kramatorsk, an important Ukrainian stronghold.

◻️ Russian forces struck energy infrastructure facilities supplying Ukrainian forces

◻️ Ukrainian losses: around 1,325 troops killed or wounded

◻️ Air defense superiority: 754 drones shot down

Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE

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