🚨🇮🇷🇺🇸Cheap Iranian drones & missiles bleed US THAAD interceptors dry: Indian Navy Vet to Sputnik

🔸 Iran aimed at the sensors that make THAAD work, striking critical radar sites.

🔸 With radar “eyes” knocked out, interceptors lose tracking and precision.

🔸 Iranian low-cost UAVs and missiles stress US air-defense stockpiles.

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🇵🇰 Pakistan emerges as strategic alternative for North-South trade corridor — expert

With Iran — a key link in the International North-South Transport Corridor — disrupted by ongoing conflict, Pakistan is well-positioned to offer an alternative transit route for Eurasian trade by connecting the Arabian Sea with China and Central Asia, Amir Jahangir, Co-Founder and CEO of Mishal Pakistan told Sputnik.

👉 Given the disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz, Pakistani ports such as Karachi and Gwadar offer strategic advantages to shipping companies. These include access to the Arabian Sea away from active conflict zones, deep-water berths, reduced congestion, and expanding logistics infrastructure — all integrated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

This positions the ports as dependable transshipment hubs linking maritime routes to overland trade networks reaching into China and Central Asia, the expert noted.

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US loses over $2B in equipment as war with Iran steams ahead

Hundreds of millions in US radars, F‑15 fighters, and MQ‑9 drones have been lost during Operation Epic Fury, on top of billions more in operational costs.

Here’s a rough estimate of losses, cited by the press:

🔸 $1.1B—AN/FPS-132 early-warning radar system destroyed at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar

🔸 $282M—three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets lost in Kuwait

🔸 $20M—two AN/GSC-52B satellite communications terminals destroyed at the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet HQ in Manama, Bahrain

🔸 $30M—three additional radar domes were destroyed at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait

🔸 $500M—AN/TPY-2 radar—part of the THAAD anti-ballistic missile system—destroyed in Al-Ruwais, United Arab Emirates

🔸 $300M/$500M—AN/TPY-2 radar and support equipment destroyed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan

🔸 $330M+—11 MQ-9 Reaper drones lost

Total estimated losses: Approximately $2.76 billion

With more than $6B in operational costs added, the start of Operation Epic Fury already looks very costly. The US has not formally recognized its losses at this stage.

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🚨🇮🇷 Fallout from Iran's black rain: Looming Central Asian ecological crisis?

Recent Israeli airstrikes on Iran's oil infrastructure have unleashed chaos in Tehran, with reports of toxic black rain falling across the city.

👉 What is black rain?

When smoke mixes with clouds, rain carries particles back to the ground. The result is often called black rain—precipitation darkened by soot, ash, or chemical residue.

🌏 Central Asia on alert

Central Asia (including countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and potentially Afghanistan and northern Pakistan) could face indirect effects if the toxic plumes disperse widely, experts claim.

Satellite imagery shows the contaminated plume drifting northeast toward Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, and could move further.

⚠️ Potential risks for the region:

🟠 Black rain, now saturated with oil, is causing highly acidic precipitation, which could result in a number of health problems, such as respiratory and eye irritation, as well as skin burns and lung damage

🟠 Acid rain could contaminate soil, rivers, and groundwater, leading to vegetation die-off, reduced agricultural yields, and threats to wildlife. This may exacerbate food security issues in agrarian regions

🟠 Fallout might corrode buildings, contaminate water sources, and devastate agriculture by acidifying soil and harming crops

🟠 Environmental groups raised concerns that the toxic rain and smoke plumes pose a threat to migratory birds crossing the Persian Gulf

🗣Official vs. scientific warnings:

In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, meteorological services reassured people that the so-called acid clouds from Iran pose no threat to the population of the two ex-Soviet republics.

But some scientists are not as upbeat, with Anna Hansell warning that “any large-scale environmental damage doesn’t recognize borders, so what’s going into the water system, what’s going into the air, it’s going to be carried elsewhere.”

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🚨🇵🇰 Pakistan is sending warships to the Persian Gulf. Here’s why:

👉 The Pakistani Navy has initiated Operation Muhafiz-ul-Bahr in the Gulf to escort its own oil tankers, according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

💬 “The objectives of this operation are very clear. We have more than 95% of our trade coming via sea. We have around 80% of our energy resources coming via the sea, and we just need to protect them,” Rear Adm. (Ret.) Faisal Shah, a defense analyst specializing in maritime affairs and regional security, told Sputnik.

🔶 He stressed that the operation is being conducted solely in the interests of Pakistan and its people, and should not raise concerns among regional countries.

🔶 The Pakistani Navy is just going to escort its ships coming from different sea lines of communication to Pakistan. In that context, this operation is not at all against any other country, Shah emphasized.

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🚨🇷🇺🇮🇷Putin, Iranian President Pezeshkian discuss Middle East escalation - Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, continuing discussions on the situation in the Middle East amid US-Israeli aggression against Iran.

💬“The Russian president reaffirmed his principled position in favor of the earliest possible de-escalation of the conflict and its resolution through political means,” the Kremlin press service said.

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

🔶 Iranian air defenses shot down an Israeli Heron drone near Tehran

🔶 The Iranian armed forces say much of the Israeli radar network has been destroyed, making strikes on military bases in Haifa easier

🔶 Tehran does not want a ceasefire and believes the US and Israel must be struck to ensure they “never again thinks of attacking Iran” – parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf

🔶 The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps launches the 34th and 35th ballistic missile waves of Operation True Promise 4

🔶 The US and Israel have dragged the region into a full-scale war – Iranian UN envoy in Geneva

🔶 The Iranian intelligence ministry says 30 US and Israeli spies were found and arrested

🔶 President Masoud Pezeshkian says: “Destroyers have come and gone, but Iran has always remained”

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🇷🇺 Russia outmaneuvered West’s sanctions on energy - expert

💬 “In the future, it will be an important strategic and psychological point for our partners to see that they can clinch deals with us,” Russian expert Stanislav Mitrakhovich tells Sputnik, commenting on Vladimir Putin stressing the necessity of Russia focusing on new energy venues to gain a foothold there. 

🗣 “One can reliably count on Russian supplies, which can also be carried out through pipelines, especially when it comes to China. We also have the opportunity to deliver supplies via the Northern Sea Route, which will be free from geopolitical risks, unlike scenarios in the Middle East," Mitrakhovich notes. 

👉 During a meeting focused on the global oil and gas market, Putin reaffirmed Russia’s position as a reliable energy supplier. He reiterated that Moscow had warned against efforts to destabilize the Middle East, cautioning that such actions could threaten the global energy sector. His remarks come as oil prices reach levels not seen since 2022 along with gas price hikes amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

🌏 Energy flows shift East

📍 Mitrakhovich, an expert at the National Energy Security Fund and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, recalls that 90% of Russian oil goes to China and India, with Beijing remaining Russia’s main buyer of gas.

💬 "Regarding Europe, there needs to be a change in leadership or a drastic shift in their viewpoint. Putin said we’re open to working with them, but they must treat us reasonably, not in the usual way. So it’s safe to say that the reorientation [to new energy markets] has largely already been completed," the expert emphasizes.

🔶 He stresses that for Europe to return to Russian energy supplies, a major economic shock on the continent is needed to shift public opinion along with the position of European politicians. 

🔶 Mitrakhovich doesn’t rule out that if Russia increases LNG exports to Southeast Asia, there may be opportunities to export additional volumes of gas to countries like Thailand or Vietnam, which are also expanding energy imports. 

🔶 As for Trump’s plans to lift sanctions on oil-producing countries to keep energy prices down, the move indicates that “the US strategy of sanctions may have been flawed, while Russia’s ability to adapt to the new reality has proven to be highly effective,” the expert points out.

🔶 One can say about “a temporary and partial easing of sanctions because the Americans still aim to push Russia out of the global hydrocarbon markets. If the Iran conflict escalates and impacts oil and gas infrastructure, the US may have to accept Russia’s increased energy clout,” Mitrakhovich predicts.

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💸🇮🇱 War bill soars: Israel plans $13bln defense boost

📍 Israel is preparing to raise its defense budget by almost 40 billion shekels ($13 billion) to fund the war with Iran, pushing military spending to 140 billion shekels — more than double the 2023 level.

🔶 The revised 2026 budget, expected to be debated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, also includes 10 billion shekels in reserve funds for further military needs, Bloomberg reports.

🔶 The war is already gutting Israeli finances. More than 100,000 reservists have been called up, far above the original cap, while government borrowing remains near record highs after two years of conflict.

🔶 With spending soaring and the deficit likely to rise above 4% of GDP, Israel may face higher debt, deeper austerity and potential tax rises to sustain the war effort.

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🔸 Putin, Iranian President Pezeshkian discuss Middle East escalation

🔸 Russia could stabilize global energy markets amid Hormuz chaos – expert

🔸 Hegseth promises 'most intense day of strikes' inside Iran

🔸 US loses over $2B in equipment as war with Iran steams ahead

🔸 Pakistan is sending warships to the Persian Gulf. Here’s why

🔸 Fallout from Iran's black rain: Looming Central Asian ecological crisis?

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🇺🇸🇮🇱⚔️🇮🇷 US-Israel war against Iran: Day-by-day

Explore our map tracing the key developments that unfolded across the region on March 7-9👆🏻

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📑 US tells Israel to halt strikes on Iran's infrastructure — reports

Trump administration asks Israel not to strike Iran's energy infrastructure, Axios reported, citing Israeli officials.

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💬 Iran denies claims that US Navy escorted oil tanker through Hormuz strait

Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf dismissed US claims of successfully escorting tankers through the Strait.

"Maybe on PlayStation!" he wrote on X.

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🗣 Russia limits chaos and energy fallout from Gulf war – expert

👉 Western efforts to ditch Russian energy have failed – leaving Russian oil as the only option, Palestinian international affairs researcher Dr Nidal Rabah tells Sputnik.

💬 "Fear of a global economic collapse could become a key factor in ending the war, especially since the world economy heavily depends on energy and oil," Rabah says, echoing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning that global markets have reached a dangerous tipping point.

🔊 “Russia is sending a signal to the US that the international system needs clarity in the rules for managing open conflicts, not strategic uncertainty,” the pundit says

🔶 Russia's message underscores that “the world is moving toward a geopolitical economy, not just one based on energy and oil markets”

🔶 Picking and choosing international law and the loss of trust from Western unilateral sanctions and double standards in wars threaten the future of the international system

💬 “Efforts to contain global chaos in this conflict are serious,” the academic says. “Russia is applying diplomatic pressure to this end, while forces that want to fuel the war are pushing in the opposite direction, seeking to prolong it.”

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🔍 US pulls THAAD from South Korea to Middle East — report

Pentagon is moving one of its most advanced missile defense systems from the Korean Peninsula to the Gulf as Iran war intensifies, Washington Post reported.

According to US officials, Patriot interceptors are also being drawn from Indo-Pacific stocks.

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