China slammed the ongoing U.S. military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday as a "dangerous and irresponsible move." 

The remarks from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun came after the U.S. began enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports in key waterway at 10 a.m. ET on Monday. President Donald Trump ordered the blockade after peace talks with Tehran collapsed this weekend. 

"With the temporary ceasefire agreement still in place, the United States ramped up military deployment and resorted to a targeted blockade. This will only aggravate confrontation, escalate tension, undermine the already fragile ceasefire and further jeopardize safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz," Guo said. "It is a dangerous and irresponsible move." 

"China believes that only a complete ceasefire can fundamentally create conditions for easing the situation. We urge relevant parties to honor the ceasefire agreement, stick to the direction of peace talks and take concrete actions to deescalate the situation so that normal traffic via the Strait will be able to resume as soon as possible," he added.

LIVE UPDATES: FRESH IRAN TALKS COULD BEGIN THIS WEEK AS US CONTINUES BLOCKADE ON PORTS

The White House did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, is one of the world’s most critical energy choke points. It carries roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day, along with about one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas. 

TRUMP ORDERS A BLOCKADE IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS TENSIONS WITH IRAN SOAR

U.S. Central Command announced plans to enforce the blockade earlier Monday in a notice to seafarers. 

"Any vessel entering or departing the blockaded area without authorization is subject to interception, diversion, and capture," the note said.

Iran has condemned the blockade as "piracy" and vowed to respond with force, potentially ending the fragile ceasefire with the U.S. 

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Amanda Macias contributed to this report. 

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un observed launches of two cruise missiles and three anti-ship missiles from his prized new warship, the 5,000-ton-class destroyer Choe Hyon, state media claimed Tuesday. 

The cruise missiles flew for more than two hours and the anti-ship missiles for more than 30 minutes along pre-set trajectories over the country’s western seas before accurately striking their targets on Sunday, according to North Korea’s official newspaper Rodong Sinmun. 

One image released by the Korean Central News Agency showed Kim standing next to North Korean officials while watching a projectile fly away from the ship.  

Kim has hailed the development of the Choe Hyon, which was first unveiled in April 2025, as a major step toward expanding the operational reach and preemptive strike capabilities of his military.

NORTH KOREA FIRES MISSILES TOWARD SEA AFTER RIDICULING SOUTH'S HOPES FOR BETTER TIES

State media claim the warship is designed to carry a range of systems, including anti-air and anti-ship weapons as well as nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles. South Korean officials and experts say the vessel was likely built with Russian assistance amid deepening military ties, but some experts question whether it’s ready for active service, The Associated Press reported. 

After Sunday’s tests, Kim said his government remained focused on the "limitless expansion" of its nuclear forces and issued unspecified new tasks to sharpen the country’s nuclear attack and rapid-response capabilities. He also reviewed plans for the weapons systems for his third and fourth destroyers currently being built, Rodong Sinmun claimed. 

NORTH KOREA RELAUNCHES WARSHIP THAT SUFFERED EMBARRASSING FAILURE DURING INITIAL LAUNCH

North Korea unveiled a second destroyer of the same class in May last year – the Kang Kon -- but it was damaged during a botched launch at the northern port of Chongjin. It later was relaunched in June following repairs. 

State media says a third destroyer under construction at the Nampo shipyard on the country’s western coast is expected to be completed by the ruling Workers’ Party’s founding anniversary in October, according to the AP.

North Korea also conducted a series of tests last week that state media said involved various new weapons systems, including ballistic missiles armed with cluster-bomb warheads, while its senior officials issued statements ridiculing South Korean hopes for warmer relations. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

JOHANNESBURG: A strategically important air base and port have been offered to the U.S. as a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz begins and Iran-backed threats target the key Red Sea choke point of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Top U.S. military officials, including the commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Gen. Dagvin Anderson, recently visited facilities being offered in Somaliland. Somaliland is a pro-U.S. outpost, having broken away from war-torn Somalia in 1991.

Bab-el-Mandeb, which is Arabic for "gate of tears," has become the main route for oil to ship out of the Middle East to Asia since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed. Bloomberg News reported that Saudi Arabia has switched to shipping potentially up to 7 million barrels of oil a day from its port at Yanbu on the Red Sea through the strait. It’s reported that up to 14% of the world’s shipping passes through the 16-mile-wide strait.

IS TRUMP CONSIDERING BOLD AFRICA PLAY TO PUSH BACK ON CHINA, RUSSIA AND ISLAMIC TERRORISTS?

Enter the controversial offer to the U.S. of an air and naval base at Berbera in Somaliland. The official Republic of Somaliland site on X extolled Berbera’s virtues last month, boasting that it has "a deep water port along the artery connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean", and "one of Africa’s longest runways, originally developed as a NASA emergency landing site."

"Berbera obviously has huge strategic potential," for sea and air operations, Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former U.K. ambassador to Yemen and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News Digital.

The U.S. does have another Red Sea base in Djibouti, but Fitton-Brown told Fox News Digital the government there is increasingly uncomfortable with some administration’s policies: "Djibouti becomes an increasingly reluctant, unwilling ally to the U.S. in helping enforce sanctions on the Houthis. Somaliland, which is almost equally well-placed to address issues on the western and southwestern coasts of Yemen, can help the U.S., Israel and the UAE combat the Houthis."

The controversy comes over the question of U.S. recognition of Somaliland.

President Donald Trump, in the Oval Office last August, told reporters, "We’re looking into that right now," when asked about the recognition of Somaliland and the possible resettlement of Gazans there, adding, "We’re working on that right now, Somaliland."

But this past week, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "The United States continues to recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia, which includes the territory of Somaliland."

Last year Israel became the first country to recognize Somaliland.

TRUMP SEEKS WARSHIPS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO HELP SECURE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Iran is pushing the Houthis to take action in the Red Sea. "Insecurity in other straits, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea, is one of the options of the Resistance Front, and the situation will become much more complicated than it is today for the Americans," the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-linked Tasmin news agency warned on March 21.

Baraa Shaiban, an expert on the Houthis at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), says the recognition of Somaliland is problematic, as it "will upset the U.S. relationship with the Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, many of which are U.S. allies. It would be unwise for the United States to upset its allies in the region just to gain access to Somaliland ports."

A spokesperson for AFRICOM told Fox News Digital, "The U.S. is not seeking to establish new basing, as such actions do not align with the America First security framework articulated by the President and Secretary of War."

While publicly both the use of bases and recognition of Somaliland are no-go areas, analysts say that with Somaliland offering the use of its bases without immediate recognition by the administration, the issue is perhaps privately not off the table.

And that could be why a recent video shared with Fox News Digital shows AFRICOM's Gen. Anderson and a large group of senior military officials in Somaliland. Anderson met with Somaliland's president, and appeared to inspect the port in Berbera in November, just five months ago.

That’s not the only reported visit. Somaliland’s top diplomatic representative in Washington, Bashir Goth, said at a recent Foreign Policy Research Institute debate, "The war in the Middle East has elevated Somaliland’s strategic importance. U.S. military interest has been very strong. Every month, there has been a delegation from AFRICOM to Hargeisa," the capital of Somaliland.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Republic of Somaliland, but they declined to comment.

A man was detained Saturday at Shannon Airport in Ireland after allegedly climbing onto the wing of a U.S. military aircraft and attacking it with a hatchet, according to local reports.

Irish police, or Gardaí, said a man in his 40s entered an unauthorized area of the airport in County Clare and was arrested shortly before 11 a.m. on suspicion of criminal damage. Investigations are ongoing, Gardaí said.

The aircraft involved was a U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane that had been parked on a remote taxiway, Irish news outlet The Journal reported.

Video circulating online appeared to show a man in dark clothing walking along the wing of the aircraft during the incident. He moved across the wing near the engines and fuselage.

JORDANIAN NATIONAL ARRESTED AFTER BOARDING FLIGHT IN ARIZONA WITH INVALID TICKET, PROMPTING EVACUATION

The breach raises renewed concerns about security at Shannon Airport, which has experienced multiple recent incidents involving unauthorized access to restricted areas.

A spokesperson for Shannon Airport said the airport temporarily shut down operations after the breach.

"The airport suspended operations at approximately 9:50 a.m., and operations resumed at 10:15 a.m.," the spokesperson said.

JORDANIAN NATIONAL ARRESTED AFTER BOARDING FLIGHT IN ARIZONA WITH INVALID TICKET, PROMPTING EVACUATION

The brief closure caused minor disruption, with two departing flights delayed and one incoming aircraft placed in a holding pattern before landing shortly after 10:20 a.m., The Journal reported.

Authorities, including airport police, Gardaí and Irish Defence Forces personnel responded, The Journal reported. Armed officers and specialist units were also deployed.

Officials carried out a search of the airport perimeter to determine how the suspect gained access to the restricted area.

BULLET DISCOVERED ON COMMERCIAL JET AT MAJOR AIRPORT SPARKS SECURITY SCARE

According to The Journal, the incident is the latest in a string of recent security breaches at Shannon Airport.

In November, three people were arrested after a van breached airport security and entered a restricted area. In May, another vehicle crashed through a perimeter fence, forcing a temporary shutdown. Weeks later, three women were arrested after allegedly accessing the airfield and damaging an aircraft.

Authorities have not said whether Saturday’s incident is linked to those prior breaches.

Shannon Airport has been the site of frequent anti-war protests for years over its use by the U.S. military, dating back to the Iraq War era.

Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. Air Forces in Europe for comment.

Just hours before the ceasefire deal went into effect on Tuesday between the U.S. and Iran’s clerical regime to pause fighting for two weeks, the regime urged young children and adults to surround Iranian energy facilities as human shields in reaction to President Trump's threat to wipe out its energy infrastructure.

The thinking behind Iran’s regime's willingness to use children and civilians as cannon fodder, according to observers, is that an American airstrike that kills children or civilians will dramatically sway U.S. public opinion against the war and create a rally-round-the-regime effect in Tehran.

And now with high-level peace talks due to start between the U.S. and Iran in Pakistan, Tehran can be seen as the godfather of propaganda when it comes to manipulating much of the world's media — even more skilled than its terror apprentice forces in Gaza and Lebanon. Yemen and beyond.

INSIDE TEHRAN AFTER STRIKES: IRANIAN WOMAN DESCRIBES FEAR, CHECKPOINTS AND PEOPLE USED AS ‘HUMAN SHIELDS’

Lisa Daftari, an Iran expert, told Fox News Digital that the theocratic state’s exploitation of civilians for their war aim is part and parcel of their nearly half-century playbook against the West. "The Islamic Republic is the Godfather of propaganda. It has spent 47 years perfecting the art of saying one thing at the negotiating table and doing another in the field. The Trump administration should walk into these talks with maximum skepticism. This regime has never kept its word on its weapons, and there's no reason to believe this time is different."

She pointed to Tehran's "record of positioning civilian infrastructure — hospitals, mosques, schools and now power plants — as military shields. They did it in Lebanon through Hezbollah. They did it in Gaza through Hamas. And they are doing it now on their own soil, with their own people, under coercion. Iranians who refuse to participate face consequences."

Daftari, who is the Editor-in-Chief of the Foreign Desk, added that, "Iran's regime has never hesitated to use its own people as a shield. The difference now is they're doing it in front of cameras, in real time, knowing exactly which images will make prime-time news around the world. This is propaganda. And the two-week ceasefire just gave them more time to manipulate the West and continue on in their narrative warfare."

Right at the beginning of "Operation Epic Fury", the world's media was full of accounts from Iran of an air strike that reportedly hit an Iranian school for girls in the town of Minab Feb. 28. The air strike reportedly killed 175 people, most of whom were children, at the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school, according to the regime. The school was located on the same street as buildings used by the IRGC. A Pentagon investigation was launched in March to look into the allegations that a U.S. missile struck the school.

Speaking to Fox News Digital last month, Iranian-American journalist Banafsheh Zand, who has been following the reporting, pointed to the fact that the school that has been there for more than a decade and its reported affiliation with Iran’s military. She said that while the regime claims between 168 fatalities and 180 fatalities, mostly girls between the ages of 7 and 12, along with teachers and parents from the school, there has been no independent confirmation of the reported casualty figures. 

TRUMP’S IRAN CEASEFIRE ROCKED WITHIN HOURS AMID REPORTED MISSILE, DRONE ATTACKS

"There is no confirmation on the number of people, from anyone other than regime sources," she said. "Some people in the area said it was 65 boys. Sixty-five boys? What are 65 boys doing in a girls’ school at 10:30 on a Saturday morning?"

Both Democratic and Republican U.S. administrations have classified Iran’s regime as a leading state-sponsor of terrorism.

Speaking on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime,' on Thursday, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said the American media was "essentially… carrying water for Iran."

Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow at JINSA, told Fox News Digital, "The regime wants to show the Iranian people that it is not weakened despite all the deaths in its leadership and losses in its arsenals, and to claim legitimacy by showing it is winning against the eternal American and Israeli enemies."

He said, "Like Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran uses civilians as human shields for propaganda purposes. It cares nothing for the safety and fate of its own people. It wants to portray the country as undaunted and willing to sacrifice for victory. And if civilians are killed, all the better for the regime's political goals… Iran wants to undermine U.S. domestic support for the war by framing it as America doing Israel's bidding, and by using AI-generated disinformation to depict massive destruction and casualties at U.S. bases in the Middle East."

The regime suffered a crisis of legitimacy after millions of Iranians poured into the streets in January and demanded the dissolution of the Islamic Republic.

Both the IRGC and Basij — the regime’s street fighting paramilitary troops — played a key role in the mass murder of 45,000 Iranian civilians in January, who protested the regime. President Trump said in his address to the nation that the regime killed 45,000 people. The previous death toll was estimated to be over 35,000 people.

Ruhe said, "As it did before the war, it also wants to delegitimize protesters and other internal opposition by depicting them as American and Israeli agents. It can be expected to ramp up all of these propaganda efforts during the ceasefire. The United States and our partners will be part of this intended audience, too."

Adding to its deadly propaganda mix, the regime freely uses child soldiers to achieve its goals. According to Amnesty International, "Eyewitness accounts and verified audiovisual evidence show child soldiers having been deployed at IRGC checkpoints and patrols, armed with weapons, including AK47pattern rifles."

Erika Guevara-Rosas, senior director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, for Amnesty stated in the report that, "The Iranian authorities are shamelessly encouraging children as young as 12 to join an IRGC run military campaign, putting them in grave danger and violating international law, which prohibits the recruitment and use of children in the military. Recruiting children under 15 into the armed forces constitutes a war crime."

Jennifer Dyer, a retired commander of U.S. Naval Intelligence, told Fox News "I’d say the remnant of the regime can’t muster enough human shields to be doing it all over the place.  The people are too resistant.  Protests continued in the country the last couple of days, and some reporting on social media indicated a crackdown by the Basij on protesters after the so-called ceasefire was announced."

In late March, a deputy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Rasoul Allah Corps of Greater Tehran, Rahim Nadali, declared that the state launched a  recruitment campaign called the "Homeland-Defending Combatants for Iran" that is "open to volunteers" aged 12 and older. The drive to recruit child soldiers took place in mosques and bases of the paramilitary organization Basij. The recruitment campaign sought adolescents to join "combatants defending the homeland."

Fox News Digital reached out to Iran’s U.N. Mission in New York for a comment.

An anonymous Iranian woman has bravely stepped forward on the international stage to describe what's really happening on the ground in Tehran as President Donald Trump's two-week ceasefire with Iran tentatively began Tuesday.

In an essay published in The Australian, the anonymous author details nightly explosions, sweeping checkpoints and communications blackouts as a part of Iranian daily life since the beginning of operations launched by the United States and Israel in February.

"In effect, ordinary people have been turned into human shields within a vast militarized landscape," she wrote. "A pervasive sense of anger, paranoia and exhaustion has taken hold."

Flagrant public executions of protesters by the thousands by the Iranian regime in January moved residents to cheer on the initial days of attacks by U.S. and Israeli forces as Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28.

WHY TRUMP, IRAN SEEM LIGHT-YEARS APART ON ANY POSSIBLE DEAL TO END THE WAR

"They say they’ve hit the leader’s residence," the author's daughter was quoted saying. "All the children were screaming and cheering. … Even our teacher was quietly snapping their fingers and dancing."

The author described everyday Iranians celebrating the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei that same Saturday, and the streets of Tehran filling with cheers of "death to the dictator."

"Perhaps for the first time," the anonymous author recalled, "we allowed ourselves to believe our long-held dream was beginning to take shape."

RED CROSS SHARES AUDIO OF IRANIAN CIVILIAN EXPLAINING SITUATION ON THE GROUND IN TEHRAN: 'NO RESPITE'

But soon enough, the reality of day-to-day life under a threatened, crumbling regime and ongoing attacks took a toll. One of the harshest realities those on the ground in Iran face is the internet blackout, effectively ending communications with the outside world and leading to great uncertainty at the hands of the regime.

"So far, none of those close to us have suffered physical harm, but no night is calm," the Iranian woman wrote. "What weighs most heavily is not only the war itself, but the possibility that it may end leaving behind a regime even more authoritarian, more repressive and more violent."

According to the author, a stubborn faction of regime supporters remain, blasting propaganda on loudspeakers nightly through the streets of Tehran and reinforcing its authority to those who support the revolution.

TRUMP’S IRAN CEASEFIRE ROCKED WITHIN HOURS AMID REPORTED MISSILE, DRONE ATTACKS

"The streets are now covered with checkpoints," she wrote. "Under bridges and along main roads, movement is restricted. Long traffic lines form. Young people are stopped, their phones inspected under the pretext of routine checks."

After the announcement of the ceasefire between U.S. forces and the Iranian regime Tuesday, the author said, most of her country went to sleep that night in a "state of deep anxiety."

"What weighs most heavily is not only the war itself, but the possibility that it may end up leaving behind a regime even more authoritarian, more repressive, and more violent," the author notes.

She urged a ceasefire that is not "abandonment," but peace, destabilizing the Iranian regime.

"A ceasefire that stabilizes the current order, without addressing the demands that have brought Iranians into the streets for years, risks being experienced not as peace, but as abandonment," the author wrote.

Negotiations between Iran and the U.S. are scheduled to begin Friday in Pakistan.

"We wait, and we continue, in whatever ways possible, to insist that light will eventually overcome this darkness," she concluded.

The Australian notes the author remains anonymous for "fear of retribution."

A miner in Mexico was saved in an "astonishing rescue" after spending nearly two weeks trapped underground, officials said. 

A dam breach caused by a structural failure flooded the El Rosario mine in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa on March 25, trapping Francisco Zapata Nájera and three co-workers. Zapata Nájera was located on Tuesday by divers, but the rescue teams were unable to reach him through heavily flooded areas until 21 hours later. 

"The exceptional members of the Mexican Army's Emergency Response Battalion, along with the faith and resilience of a miner, made this astonishing rescue possible after 13 days," Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X. "I'm certain that all Mexicans, every one of us, hold you in our hearts." 

Of the 25 miners present during the accident, 21 escaped immediately. Five days later, rescuers pulled one survivor from a depth of 985 feet.

AMERICAN SKIERS RESCUED AFTER GETTING LOST NEAR OLYMPIC VENUE IN THE ITALIAN ALPS

Sheinbaum confirmed that another miner has been found dead and one more is still missing. 

In a video released Wednesday, clapping could be heard from a crowd that gathered as Zapata Nájera was removed from the mine, seeing daylight for the first time this month. 

CREWS RESCUE TEEN FROM 50-FOOT DEEP CALIFORNIA MINESHAFT

His condition was stabilized and he was sent in a Mexican Air Force helicopter to a hospital in Mazatlán, where he will be treated by specialists, officials said. 

Mexico's deadliest mining accident took place in February 2006 at the Pasta de Conchos mine in Coahuila, where an explosion killed 65 workers.

In August 2022, 10 miners died when the El Pinabete coal mine in Coahuila flooded. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The State Department said it authorized the departure of some staff at its embassy in Nigeria over the "deteriorating security situation" in the African country. 

The development comes weeks after the U.S. military reportedly sent MQ-9 Reaper drones to Nigeria amid fears of a renewed insurgency by the terrorist group Boko Haram. The day before the authorization was issued, gunmen attacked two villages about 155 miles from Abuja, where the U.S. embassy is located, killing 20 people, residents told The Associated Press. 

"On April 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of State authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and family members from U.S. Embassy Abuja due to the deteriorating security situation," the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria said. "The U.S. Embassy in Abuja will remain open but will have limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Nigeria." 

"The U.S. Consulate General in Lagos will continue to provide routine and emergency services to U.S. citizens in Nigeria," it added. "The Department of State Travel Advisory for Nigeria remains at Level 3, recommending travelers reconsider travel to Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, armed gangs, and inconsistent availability of health care services."

GUNMEN ON BIKES STORM NIGERIA VILLAGE ON PALM SUNDAY, KILLING AT LEAST 20

The embassy also said, "U.S. citizens in Abuja should consider departing if you do not need to remain for emergency or essential purposes." 

The recent attacks occurred in the early hours of Tuesday in Bagna and Erena, located in the Shiroro area of Niger state. 

"They came on motorbikes and began shooting. It was a surprise attack, because it was in the early hours of the morning," Jibrin Isah, who lives in Erena, told the AP.

100 US TROOPS LAND IN NIGERIA AS ISLAMIC MILITANTS THREATEN WEST AFRICA REGIONAL SECURITY

Residents said at least 20 people were killed, with more missing. However, local police said only three people were killed. 

The State Department said in a travel advisory issued Wednesday that there is "risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Nigeria," adding, "Terrorists collaborate with local gangs to expand their reach" and "They may attack with little or no warning." 

The MQ-9 drones reportedly were deployed to Nigeria in late March after 200 U.S. troops arrived in February to provide training and intelligence. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is battling a complex security crisis, especially in the north of the country.

A spokesperson for AFRICOM, the U.S. Africa Command, had told the AP that U.S. troops "are working alongside their Nigerian counterparts to provide intelligence support, advisory assistance, and targeted training in support of the Nigerian Armed Forces."  

Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups active in Nigeria are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State and is known as Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP.

There is also the ISIS-linked Lakurawa, as well as other "bandit" groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining. 

President Donald Trump has spoken out against violence targeting Christians in Nigeria, telling Fox News Radio last year, "I’m really angry about it" and "What’s happening in Nigeria is a disgrace."

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also met with Nigerian national security advisor Nuhu Ribadu last November amid threats from Trump to cut off aid to Nigeria if the country "continues to allow the killing of Christians." Nigerian officials have pushed back on the accusation.

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.   

Australian authorities have arrested and charged the country's most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, with five war crime murders allegedly committed during the war in Afghanistan.

Roberts-Smith, a former member of the Australian Defence Force, was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday. His arrest has sparked outcry from a former Australian prime minister, who argued its unfair to judge the actions of "men in mortal combat by the standards of ordinary civilian life." X owner Elon Musk also weighed in on the arrest, calling it "insane."

The Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator said Roberts-Smith is being charged in connection with the killings of five unarmed Afghans in three separate incidents between 2009 and 2012. AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett alleged that Roberts-Smith either killed the unarmed Afghans himself or instructed a subordinate to kill them. If convicted, Roberts-Smith faces life imprisonment on each charge.

"It will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan," Barrett said during a press conference. "It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed."

NEW CHARGES AGAINST DC NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTING SUSPECT OPEN DEATH PENALTY DOOR

The investigation into Roberts-Smith began in 2021, according to Ross Barnett, director of investigations at the Office of the Special Investigator. Roberts-Smith received the Victoria Cross after storming two enemy machine guns during his fifth tour in Afghanistan.

Barnett said at the press conference that the investigation was "under challenging circumstances," given that some of the murders occurred well over a decade ago and investigators were unable to visit Afghanistan.

"We don’t have access to the crime scenes, we don’t have photographs, site plans, measurements, the recovery of projectiles, blood spatter analysis, all of those things we would normally get at a crime scene," Barnett said at the press conference.

TRUMP’S DC GUARD DEPLOYMENT DIDN’T FUEL VIOLENCE — BIDEN'S AFGHAN VETTING BREAKDOWN DID

While Australia's current prime minister has yet to weigh in on the arrest, former Australian Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party Tony Abbott expressed his support for Roberts-Smith on X in a lengthy post.

"If Ben Roberts-Smith transgressed, why wasn’t this picked up prior to his gallantry awards and why wasn’t any culture of brutality towards prisoners detected by his more senior officers, and dealt with quickly, rather than being allowed to fester, as has been alleged, for over a decade?" Abbott wrote.

Allegations that Roberts-Smith engaged in war crimes began circulating publicly in 2017 and 2018 in articles published by The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times.

Roberts-Smith filed a defamation suit against the papers, which became Australia's most expensive defamation trial, but in 2023, a Federal Court judge ruled that four of the six murder allegations brought by the papers against Roberts-Smith were legitimate.

In one of the allegations ruled to have merit by Justice Anthony Besanko, Roberts-Smith allegedly marched a handcuffed Afghan man named Ali Jan off the edge of a 10-meter cliff. He survived the fall, but Roberts-Smith and his fellow soldiers walked down a footpath to meet him. Roberts-Smith then ordered a subordinate, known as Person 11 in court, to shoot him.

The High Court dismissed Roberts-Smith's appeal of the ruling in September 2025.

The criminal charges against Roberts-Smith stem from a joint effort by OSI and AFP. The two Australian agencies have conducted 53 investigations into ADF members tied to war crime allegations in Afghanistan. Ten of the investigations remain ongoing.

High-level sources have informed Fox News that during rescue efforts in Iran after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down, the commander of U.S. Central Command directed an attack against an underground Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters.

While the airman rescue was going on, CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper directed a strike on an IRGC headquarters in an underground facility near Tehran — it was done with B2 bombers, using Massive Ordnance Penetrators, the same weapon used last year in Operation Midnight Hammer, according to the sources. Fox News is told the headquarters was obliterated.

U.S. military B1 bombers (BONES) dropped a hundred 2,000-pound bombs during the rescue operations to keep Iranians away from the rescue area during the operation, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

A senior military source told Fox News, "we delivered the heat" on the IRGC.

RESCUE EXPERT SAYS MOST DANGEROUS MOMENT COMES AFTER ‘JACKPOT’ CALL IN RECOVERY BEHIND ENEMY LINES

CENTCOM noted in a press release that U.S. forces had rescued two service members after their F-15E was downed.

Fox News was told that the operation took place between the two rescues: Cooper ordered the B2s to fly round trip from Whiteman Air Force Base in the U.S. because they received time-sensitive intelligence about the location of a large number of IRGC commanders inside this underground bunker in Tehran, and the Massive Ordnance Penetrators, bunker buster bombs, were dropped by the B2 warplanes.

AIRMAN RESCUE SHOWS US CAN PENETRATE ENEMY TERRITORY ‘ANYWHERE’ IN IRAN, FORMER PENTAGON OFFICIAL WARNS

Following the rescues, President Donald Trump declared in a Truth Social post, "We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran. The Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close. He is a highly respected Colonel. This type of raid is seldom attempted because of the danger to 'man and equipment.' It just doesn’t happen!" 

RETIRED F-16 PILOT SAYS RESCUED US AIRMAN'S SURVIVAL IN IRAN HIGHLIGHTS INTENSE EVASION TRAINING

"The second raid came after the first one, where we rescued the pilot in broad daylight, also unusual, spending seven hours over Iran. An AMAZING show of bravery and talent by all!" he said.

Iran is ramping up the recruitment of children as young as the age of 12 into military-linked roles tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to new reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

The reports underscore mounting pressure inside Iran’s war effort. As U.S. and Israeli strikes intensify, rights groups and analysts say recruiting children points to manpower shortages and a growing reliance on paramilitary forces to hold the home front. It also escalates the human cost of the conflict, placing minors in direct danger while exposing Iran to potential war crimes liability. 

Human Rights Watch said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched a campaign called "Homeland Defending Combatants for Iran," lowering the minimum recruitment age to 12 and encouraging minors to sign up in mosques and through Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

The roles go beyond support tasks and include "operational patrols," staffing checkpoints and intelligence activities, putting children directly in harm’s way as fighting intensifies across the country.

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Amnesty International said the recruitment and deployment of children under 15 "constitutes a war crime," and backed its findings with verified visual evidence and eyewitness accounts.

The organization analyzed 16 photos and videos published since Saturday, showing children carrying weapons, including AK-pattern rifles, and deployed alongside Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij forces at checkpoints, on patrols and during state-organized rallies in Iranian cities including Tehran, Mashhad and Kermanshah.

Amnesty also documented the fatal consequences. On Sunday, 11-year-old Alireza Jafari was killed at a checkpoint in Iran while accompanying his father, a Basij member, the group said. Authorities said he was killed "while serving" following an Israeli drone strike.

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According to Amnesty, the boy’s mother told the Iranian newspaper Hamshahri that her husband had reported a shortage of personnel at checkpoints and took their two sons with him. She said he told their son he "must get prepared for the days ahead," adding that children as young as 15 and 16 are commonly involved in checkpoint duties.

Eyewitness accounts reviewed by Amnesty describe children visibly struggling to handle weapons. One person in Tehran wrote: "I saw a child at a checkpoint near our house … I think he was about 15… It seemed like he was struggling to breathe from the effort of lifting the gun."

Another witness in Karaj, Iran, reported seeing a child "holding a Kalashnikov rifle," while a third in Rasht said some appeared to be "13 years old at most," warning they could "fire randomly."

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In one video cited by Amnesty, filmed March 30 in Mashhad, Iran, two children wearing Basij uniforms and balaclavas were seen carrying assault rifles while positioned on a moving vehicle during a state-organized rally, elevated above a cheering crowd.

The recruitment campaign itself has been promoted through official channels, including posters depicting children alongside armed adults under the slogan "Basij with people, for people," accompanied by a quote attributed to Iran’s Supreme Leader calling for Basij forces to remain central to the revolution.

Iranian officials have defended the policy by pointing to what they describe as strong demand among teenagers.

In a televised interview with Iranian state media, IRGC official Rahim Nadali said the minimum age was set at 12 because "teenagers and the youth repeatedly have come and said that they want to take part." 

"There is no excuse for a military recruitment drive that targets children to sign up, much less 12-year-olds," Human Rights Watch’s Bill Van Esveld said.

The reports come as the United Nations classifies the recruitment of children in armed conflict as a "grave violation," with international law prohibiting the enlistment of children under 15 and setting 18 as the standard for participation in hostilities.

Both organizations called on Iranian authorities to immediately halt the recruitment of minors and release those already serving. 

Iran's mission to the United Nations declined Fox News Digital's comment request. 

Iran is building a decentralized drone warfare capability in Tehran’s apartment building basements powered by inexpensive technology sourced from China, a leading defense expert has warned.

Draganfly’s Cameron Chell also said this emerging system — centered on first-person-view (FPV) drones — could pose a threat not only across the Middle East but potentially to the U.S. homeland.

"The FPVs are Iran’s Hail Mary because they are very hard to defend, are incredibly effective and can be delivered in a manner without having to have a central command," Chell told Fox News Digital.

"So, whether it's the Iranian army, whether it's militia groups or Iranian patriots, they can all create or procure their own FPVs and get offensive."

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He added that "Iran could be reiterating FPVs and churning out more than 100,000 a month over time."

"Iran's got either militias or sleeper cells in the states who can, in my estimation, already build this equipment," Chell clarified.

Chell’s warning comes as recent incidents in Iraq highlight the growing use of FPVs.

At Baghdad International Airport, Iranian-backed militias operating under the "Iraqi Islamic Resistance" umbrella have launched multiple FPV drone attacks.

Footage released in March 2026 allegedly shows an FPV drone striking a U.S. UH-60M or HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, while another attack successfully hit a U.S. AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar unit at the same base.

"FPVs are a central core theme, and Iran is building these itself, suspecting they’re pulling parts in from China and getting the parts through some pretty porous borders. So, it is very difficult to stop that," Chell said.

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He warned that Iran’s strategy mirrors what has already occurred in Ukraine, where decentralized drone manufacturing has flourished.

"There will be, or already is, an underground industry for FPV and drone manufacturing, which will or is swelling up inside Iran, the exact same way that we saw it swell up inside Ukraine," he explained.

"This is going to be happening in people's homes in Iran, people's basements, the basements of apartment blocks, where they can construct makeshift assembly lines.

"I am confident China and Russia are shipping in parts to help support the development of drone assembly or manufacturing capability, which is a de facto decentralized cottage industry."

Concerns extend beyond overseas battlefields as about 1,500 Iranians were intercepted at the U.S. border during the Biden administration.

Officials warn the unknown number who evaded detection raises fears of potential "sleeper cells."

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President Trump acknowledged the issue March 11, saying, "A lot of people came in through Biden with his stupid open border, but we know where most of them are: We’ve got our eye on all of them, I think."

"It is the beginning of an asymmetric capability that the Iranians will use against their neighbors and U.S. assets in the region, but also the U.S. homeland," Chell said.

"We may even want to call it terrorist attacks, using FPV's against their neighbors and practically anywhere in the world.

"It’s a matter of when we see FPV attacks, probably swarm, probably sophisticated, on U.S. soil."

"Within the next eight months, the Iranians are going to have sophisticated drone systems that can defeat some RF/radio frequency jamming. They will start to use tactics like swarming or spoofing," he warned.

"It will be very, very difficult for the U.S. to take out these little drone factories in the basements of apartment blocks where civilians help. Cutting supply chains will also be difficult.

"The primary choke point for the Iranians is to establish supply chains from China to have enough supply to constitute precision mass capability and/or consistent, pervasive asymmetric capability," Chell said before stating that, if this happens, "the war between Iran and the U.S. just gets a lot longer."

Iran’s military is not designed to win a conventional war against the United States or Israel. It is designed to survive one, absorb damage and continue fighting over time, experts say.

That strategy is reflected both in how the force is built and how it is performing now, after weeks of sustained U.S. and Israeli strikes.

The scale of the campaign has been significant. More than 9,000 targets have been struck since the launch of Operation Epic Fury, according to a March 23, 2026, fact sheet from U.S. Central Command, alongside more than 9,000 combat flights, hitting missile sites, air defenses, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command centers and weapons production facilities.

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U.S. officials say the objective is clear. 

"We are targeting and eliminating Iran’s ballistic missile systems … destroying the Iranian Navy … and ensuring Iran cannot rapidly rebuild," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said during a March Pentagon briefing.

But analysts caution that the picture is more complex.

"It’s a mixed bag," Nicholas Carl, a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank and assistant director of the Critical Threats Project, told Fox News Digital. "On one hand, (Iran’s military) is badly degraded across the board, but the regime still retains a significant amount of capability." 

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At the heart of Iran’s military system is a deliberate dual structure: the conventional army, known as the Artesh, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a parallel force created after the 1979 revolution to safeguard the regime.

According to Carl, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has shaped the armed forces throughout decades around one central objective: preserving the Islamic Republic and exporting its revolutionary ideology.

"You need to separate between the IRGC and the regular army," Middle East intelligence expert Danny Citrinowicz told Fox News Digital. "The IRGC gets all of the budgets — better salaries, better equipment, better everything."

Carl describes the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "deeply ideological praetorian guard," while the Artesh remains a more conventional force tasked with defending Iran’s borders.

But the distinction is not absolute. 

"The IRGC is probably the more dangerous of the two, but we cannot discount the threat that the regular military poses as well," Carl said.

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Iran’s missile program remains the backbone of its military power, even after extensive strikes.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force has spent years building what Carl describes as the largest missile inventory in the Middle East.

U.S. officials say those capabilities have been significantly reduced with recent strikes. 

"Iran’s ballistic missile shots fired are down 86% from the first day of fighting," Caine said in a Pentagon briefing earlier in March, adding that drone launches have dropped by roughly 73%.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in the same briefing that the campaign has sharply limited Iran’s ability to sustain attacks. 

"The enemy can no longer shoot the volume of missiles they once did, not even close," he said. 

But even U.S. officials acknowledge the threat persists. 

"Iran will still be able to shoot some missiles … and launch one-way attack drones," Hegseth said.

Carl said the decline in fire has plateaued.

"Iranian missile and drone fire has dropped precipitously … about 90% since the war began … but that number has been consistent for weeks," he said. "That means they still retain enough capability to sustain strikes across the region."

Citrinowicz offered a similar assessment. 

"They suffered blows but still hold the ability and still have the capacity to launch missiles for weeks to come," he said.

U.S. estimates cited by Carl suggest roughly a third of Iran’s missile capabilities remain active.

"The regime still does have a significant capability to threaten targets across the region … especially as it demonstrates the ability to shoot beyond 2,000 kilometers," Carl said.

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The Pentagon says it has made major gains against Iran’s naval forces.

More than 140 Iranian vessels have been damaged or destroyed, according to U.S. Central Command.

Caine said U.S. forces have "effectively neutralized" Iran’s major naval presence in the region.

But analysts warn that Iran’s naval threat was never dependent on large ships.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy is built around "area denial capabilities," including fast attack craft, mines, missiles and drones designed to swarm adversaries and disrupt maritime movement.

"They still have the capacity — speedboats, drones, surface-to-sea missiles — allowing them to block the Strait of Hormuz," Citrinowicz said.

Carl cautioned against a common misconception.

"It’s not technically accurate to say the Strait of Hormuz is closed … Iran is selectively denying access … firing at some ships while allowing others to pass," he said.

"Iran has to do very, very little to achieve a meaningful effect."

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U.S. officials say the campaign has achieved major progress in the air.

"We will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace," Hegseth said.

Caine added that U.S. forces have already established "localized air superiority" and are expanding operations deeper into Iranian territory.

But Iran’s air force was never the centerpiece of its strategy. Years of sanctions have left it reliant on aging aircraft and limited modernization, making it far less capable than its Western or regional adversaries.

"There is definitely a setback … but Iran was never built on an air force," Citrinowicz said.

Instead, Iran relies on missiles, drones and layered defenses.

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On the ground, Iran retains a key advantage: its forces have largely not been directly engaged.

The Artesh ground forces, which include tens of brigades, are positioned primarily to defend Iran’s borders, according to Carl’s report.

"The ground troops are still intact, nobody has invaded Iran," Citrinowicz said.

He noted that ground forces are increasingly launching drones, signaling a broader shift in how Iran fights.

Beyond its borders, Iran’s military power is extended through a network of proxy forces managed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.

Carl said the Quds Force provides "leadership, materiel, intelligence, training and funds" to allied militias across the Middle East, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.

"The ‘Axis of Resistance’ is the central mechanism by which Iran can further regionalize the conflict … to endanger as many actors’ interests as possible," Carl said.

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Iran’s military is also structured to confront internal threats, reinforcing its core purpose: regime survival.

The result is a force built on redundancy, asymmetry and endurance.

Even after weeks of sustained strikes, Iran retains enough capability to continue launching missiles, harassing global shipping and leveraging proxy forces across the region.

It may be weakened, but it remains strategically dangerous. 

"We cannot discount the threat that the Iranian military poses," Carl said, "it remains a force capable of threatening regional and international security."

EXCLUSIVE: As U.S., Israeli and allied forces continue to intercept the vast majority of Iranian missiles and drones, a new report and expert analysis reveal a growing concern behind the headline success: the cost and sustainability of the defense itself.

More than 90% of Iranian projectiles have been intercepted during the war, according to a report obtained by Fox News Digital from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), thanks to a layered regional air defense system built during years of coordination.

But beneath that success lies a widening imbalance that could shape the next phase of the conflict.

The report highlights a critical trend: Iran’s least expensive weapons are proving the most disruptive and are draining costly U.S. and Israeli interceptors.

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The current air defense architecture, integrating U.S., Israeli and Arab systems, has proven highly effective at stopping incoming threats. Early warning systems, shared radar coverage and pre-positioned assets have allowed multiple countries to work together to defeat Iranian missiles and drones.

During a press briefing on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "More than 9,000 enemy targets have been struck to date… Iran's ballistic missile attacks and drone attacks are down by roughly 90%," she said, adding that U.S. forces have also destroyed more than 140 Iranian naval vessels, including nearly 50 mine layers.

A surge of U.S. assets before the war, including Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), batteries, Patriot systems, two carrier strike groups and roughly 200 fighter aircraft, helped absorb Iran’s opening salvos and maintain high interception rates, according to JINSA's report.

But Ari Cicurel, associate director of foreign policy at JINSA and author of the report, said focusing only on interception percentages misses the bigger picture.

"Overall high missile and drone interception rates have been important but only tell part of the story," Cicurel told Fox News Digital. "Iran came into this war with a deliberate plan to dismantle the architecture that makes those intercepts possible. It has struck energy infrastructure to upset markets and used cluster munitions to achieve higher hit rates."

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Danny Citrinowicz, a Middle East and national security expert at the Institute for National Security Studies and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said that imbalance is at the heart of the problem. 

"There needs to be a change in the equation," he told Fox News Digital. "The Iranians are launching drones that cost around $30,000, and we are using missiles that cost millions of dollars to intercept them. That gap is a very problematic one."

He added that the same dynamic applies to ballistic missiles.

"Building a missile in Iran may cost a few hundred thousand dollars, while the interceptor costs millions, especially when we talk about systems like Arrow," he said. "It’s easier and quicker to produce missiles than it is to build interceptors. That’s not a secret."

This cost imbalance is feeding into a broader concern: interceptor depletion.

The JINSA report warns that stockpiles across the region are already under strain. Some Gulf states have used a significant portion of their interceptor inventories, with estimates suggesting Bahrain may have expended up to 87% of its Patriot missiles, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have used roughly 75% and Qatar has used roughly 40%. 

Israel is also facing mounting pressure. While officials have not publicly confirmed stockpile levels, the report notes signs of rationing, including decisions not to intercept certain cluster-munition threats in order to conserve more advanced interceptors.

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Citrinowicz said that dynamics become more acute the longer the war continues.

"We are now several weeks into the war, and even if the salvos are limited, the issue of interceptors becomes more significant over time," he said.

Iran has adapted its tactics accordingly, shifting from large barrages to smaller, more frequent attacks designed to maintain constant pressure while gradually draining defensive resources.

These persistent salvos, even if limited in size, force defenders to remain on high alert and continue expending interceptors, accelerating the depletion of already finite stockpiles.

The report underscores that drones pose a unique challenge compared to ballistic missiles.

Unlike missiles, which rely on large launchers and leave detectable signatures, drones can be launched from mobile platforms and can fly at low altitudes that make them harder for radar systems to detect.

For example, A Shahed-136 weighs roughly 200 kilograms and launches from an angled rail mounted on a pickup truck, after which the crew can quickly relocate. That simpler launch profile makes it easier for Iran to disperse, conceal and fire under pressure, the report stated.

Iran also has incorporated lessons from the war in Ukraine, deploying more advanced drones, including those guided by fiber-optic cables that are immune to electronic jamming, and faster variants powered by jet engines.

These innovations complicate interception timelines and increase the likelihood of successful strikes, even against otherwise effective defense systems.

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Despite these challenges, the report emphasizes that the defensive architecture has not failed.

"The architecture has held, but the trajectory is moving in the wrong direction," Cicurel said. "Reversing it requires moving assets to where the pressure is greatest, hunting Iranian launchers and drones more aggressively, and convoying ships through the Gulf."

Even with high interception rates, the broader impact of the attacks is being felt.

Iranian strikes on energy infrastructure and shipping have driven oil prices higher and disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, demonstrating that air defense alone cannot prevent economic and strategic consequences.

The emerging picture is not one of failing defenses, but of a system under growing strain.

As long as Iran can produce cheap drones and missiles faster than the U.S., Israel and their partners can produce interceptors, the balance may gradually shift.

"As long as the war continues," Citrinowicz said, "the key question will be whether Iran can produce missiles faster than we can produce interceptors."

Iran could significantly increase U.S. casualties if its elite military and proxy forces shift to guerrilla-style hit-and-run attacks in the region, a leading military analyst has warned.

Michael Eisenstadt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy spoke as the Pentagon moved elements of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division into the Middle East amid a new escalation in the conflict, according to reports.

"Iran has large infantry units in its military that are equivalent to the brigade combat team of the 82nd Airborne," Eisenstadt, a former U.S. Army Reserve officer, told Fox News Digital.

"The 82nd Force is too small to cause significant harm to Iran, but it is large enough to be vulnerable to Iranian strikes, and this would enable Iran to significantly increase U.S. casualties," he said.

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Eisenstadt, who has worked as a U.S. government military analyst, claimed that, even if major conventional operations begin to wind down in the Middle East region, the danger may only evolve rather than disappear.

"We could see an end to major combat operations, with activity shifting to guerrilla-style hit-and-run attacks in the Gulf and other gray-zone activities by Iran," he said.

"Think of the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War with Iraq, in which we had to contain the Iraqis for a decade after a very successful war."

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Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported Wednesday that the U.S. has ordered the deployment of additional 82nd Airborne forces to the region.

The contingent is expected to include Maj. Gen. Brandon R. Tegtmeier, the division commander, elements of his headquarters staff, and infantry battalions from the division’s Immediate Response Force. 

Officials also indicated that the total number of troops ultimately sent could still change.

Eisenstadt said this new deployment is intended to increase pressure on Tehran as the U.S. pushes for new ceasefire terms, set in place by President Donald Trump.

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"This deployment is intended to create leverage over Iran and pressure it to accept U.S. terms for a ceasefire agreement. It would also create military options if Iran rejects those terms," he said.

In that scenario, he said, the 82nd could potentially operate alongside Marine expeditionary units in operations to seize and hold terrain, including Kharg Island, located roughly 20 miles off Iran’s Gulf coast.

U.S. forces struck military targets there March 13, destroying more than 90 Iranian military sites while deliberately sparing key oil infrastructure, according to multiple reports.

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"The brigade combat team of the 82nd could work with the 11th and 31st MEUs, or independently, to seize and hold terrain — such as Kharg Island," Eisenstadt said.

"This would provide leverage over Iran by denying it the ability to export oil and helping end the war on terms favorable to the U.S."

"There are risks involved though, because Iranian units on the mainland could bombard Kharg Island and inflict casualties on U.S. troops there also," Eisenstadt said.

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The latest military buildup comes as the conflict that began with Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, has also centered on the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran restricting access.

"The 82nd deployment is intended to increase psychological pressure on Iran and support efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz so it can once again be used by all countries," Eisenstadt explained.

The 82nd Airborne is one of the U.S. military’s premier rapid-response units, trained to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure key ground and airfields.

Portions of the division have also spent recent days at the Joint Readiness Training Center, sharpening infiltration, surveillance, combat and resupply skills, Axios reported.

"Iranian military officials have welcomed news of the dispatch of these units to the Gulf because it potentially creates options for them to impose costs on the U.S.," Eisenstadt said.

The United States military reportedly launched airstrikes targeting the headquarters of Iraq's ​Iran-backed Shiite militia (PMF) and a residence belonging to its leader on ‌Tuesday, in an escalation of strikes against Tehran's prized militias. 

The latest strikes from the U.S. military follows a statement last week from Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said AH-64 helicopters "have been striking against Iranian-aligned militia groups to make sure that we suppress any threat in Iraq against U.S. forces or U.S. interests." 

In what appears to be an Iraqi threat against the U.S., Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement on Tuesday, "In light of the unjustified attacks and grave violations of Iraqi sovereignty, including the targeting of official security headquarters, the Council decided the following: To confront and respond to military attacks carried out by military aircraft and drones targeting the headquarters and formations of the Popular Mobilization Forces Commission and other formations of our armed forces, using available means, in accordance with the right to respond and self-defense."

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Sudani also said Iraq’s foreign ministry planned to summon the U.S. chargé d’affaires and separately the Iranian ambassador on Wednesday. The PMF is part of Sudani's government.

An Iraqi Kurdish government official said to Fox News Digital, "So what the Iraqi government will now fight the Americans?"

When asked about the Iraqi Kurdish government official’s comment, an offiical for Iraq’s embassy in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital, "Absolutely not. It is against elements that target them."

According to the Times of Israel, a fresh airstrike on Wednesday hit the PMF in western Iraq. "Two missiles were fired from a fighter jet" at a base in Anbar province, a security official said. The Anbar base was also reportedly struck by U.S. forces on Tuesday.

The Iraqi embassy official said, responding to additional Fox News Digital press questions, that he lacked the current information to comment regarding the fast-moving developments in Iraq.

The PMF has launched attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Israel and other American assets in the region, especially in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, following the U.S.-Israel joint attack on the Islamic Republic on Feb. 28. Over the years, the PMF has been accused of killing American military personnel in the Middle East.

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PMF leader Falih al-Fayadh was not present when his residence was hit in the northern city of ​Mosul on Tuesday. At least 15 PMF terrorists were killed in other ⁠airstrikes that hit a headquarters of the group in Iraq's Euphrates valley ​province of Anbar, according to sources and a statement from the group.

The Kurdish government official told Fox News Digital on Tuesday: "The militias are brazenly doing Iran’s bidding. They’ve attacked U.S. forces and diplomats, Iraq’s own intelligence services, French troops, and the KRG’s Peshmerga [Kurdish Regional Government]. Energy and civilian infrastructure haven’t been spared. This does not require analysis — these groups openly claim responsibility."

The Kurdish official added: "So why does the Iraqi government continue to pay those it itself describes as terrorists and criminals? There are four principal groups: Harakat al-Nujaba, Kataeb Hezbollah, Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada and Asaib Ahl al-Haq. This government is unwilling to defend its own interests, let alone those of its partners. At this point, the distinction between the PMF and the state is increasingly hard to discern."

Elizabeth Tsurkov, a senior non-resident fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy and an expert on the PMF, told Fox News Digital there was a "sense of delusion" during the Biden administration, which tried to differentiate between the PMF and six of its pro-Iran militia members that are U.S.-designated terrorist entities.

She said the recent strikes clearly "show that the U.S. is tired of this inane distinction," Tsurkov said. She stressed the "entire PMF structure is a problem."

Tsurkov, who was held hostage by the pro-Iranian regime, Kataib Hezbollah, for two and half years in Iraq, said, "The U.S. possesses immense leverage over Iraq. The U.S. can sanction certain ministries and certain directors generals." She added that the U.S. can also sanction Iraqi banks that transfer money to Iran.

Tsurkov said the PMF are highly sensitive to U.S. strikes on their top leadership.

The PMF movement is reeling from the devastating alleged U.S. airstrikes. The dead included its operations commander, Saad al-Baiji. The statement said ​U.S. forces had targeted a command headquarters in Anbar while personnel were on ​duty. The security sources said the strikes were hit during a meeting attended by senior commanders.

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A State Department official told Fox News Digital, "The United States strongly condemns the widespread attacks by Iran and Iran-backed militias against U.S. citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq, including U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities."

The official continued: "As Secretary Rubio has said, the Iraqi government must take all measures to safeguard U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities and ensure militia groups cannot use Iraqi territory to threaten the United States, our Iraqi partners, or the region. Doing so is in Iraq’s interest. Continued attacks by Iran-backed militias undermine Iraq’s stability and risk drawing Iraq into a broader regional conflict."

A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command referred Fox News Digital to the White House and to the Office of the Secretary of War for comment on the administration’s policy. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Pentagon for comment.

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On Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a security alert warning: "Iraq Iran-aligned terrorist militias have conducted widespread attacks on U.S. citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq, including the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR). U.S. citizens should leave Iraq now."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Israel Defense Forces regarding Israel's role in the ongoing strikes against Iran-backed militias.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The U.S. military has sent MQ-9 Reaper drones to Nigeria, a U.S. defense official reportedly told The Associated Press, as fears are growing of a renewed insurgency by the terrorist group Boko Haram. 

The drones were deployed after 200 U.S. troops arrived in Nigeria last month to provide training and intelligence. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is battling a complex security crisis, especially in the north of the country. 

A spokesperson for AFRICOM, the U.S. Africa Command, told the AP that U.S. troops "are working alongside their Nigerian counterparts to provide intelligence support, advisory assistance, and targeted training in support of the Nigerian Armed Forces." 

Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups active in Nigeria are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State and is known as Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP.  

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There is also the ISIS-linked Lakurawa, as well as other "bandit" groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining. 

The U.S. troops and the MQ-9 drones are based at Bauchi Airfield, a newly built airport in the northeast of the country, the spokesperson said to the AP. The number of drones deployed remains unclear. 

The deployment is part of a new security partnership agreed on after President Donald Trump sounded the alarm about Christians being slaughtered in Nigeria’s security crisis. 

The U.S. launched strikes against IS forces on Dec. 26 — the day after Christmas.

Earlier this month, three suspected suicide bombings killed at least 23 people and wounded 108 others in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state in northeastern Nigeria. No group claimed responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on Boko Haram, which in 2009 launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria to enforce Sharia law.

100 US TROOPS LAND IN NIGERIA AS ISLAMIC MILITANTS THREATEN WEST AFRICA REGIONAL SECURITY 

MQ-9 drones cost around $30 million apiece and have separate models for land and sea. They can also be used to carry out airstrikes, but AFRICOM says they will only be used in Nigeria for intelligence-gathering and training. 

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence says Boko Haram aims to "overthrow the current Nigerian Government and replace it with a regime based on Islamic law." 

"The U.S. State Department designated Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organization in November 2013," it added. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

An Iranian military spokesman defiantly vowed Tuesday that Tehran’s armed forces will fight "until complete victory," despite suffering heavy losses from the joint U.S. and Israeli campaign. 

The remark from Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, which is Iran’s top military command, comes after President Donald Trump paused planned U.S. strikes on Iran on Monday, citing diplomatic progress. 

"Iran’s powerful armed forces are proud, victorious and steadfast in defending Iran’s integrity, and this path will continue until complete victory," Iranian state television quoted Aliabadi as saying, according to The Associated Press. It added that Aliabadi did not say what "complete victory" would look like. 

Operation Epic Fury, which started Feb. 28, has resulted in the destruction of or damage to more than 140 Iranian naval vessels, U.S. Central Command said Monday. In total, more than 9,000 combat flights have been conducted as part of the campaign. 

TRUMP’S IRAN STRATEGY SHOWCASES ‘DOCTRINE OF UNPREDICTABILITY’ AMID STRIKE THREATS AND SUDDEN PAUSE 

"CENTCOM forces are striking targets to dismantle the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that pose an imminent threat," CENTCOM said. 

Targeted assets include Iranian navy ships and submarines, air defense systems, anti-ship missile sites, military communication infrastructure and facilities involved in ballistic missile and drone manufacturing. 

On Friday, Trump, speaking about Iran, said, "Their Navy's gone, their Air Force is gone, their anti-aircraft is all gone." 

JET FUEL PRICES SOAR AS AIRLINES WARN SUPPLIES COULD RUN DRY WITHIN WEEKS 

"Their leaders are all gone. The next set of leaders are all gone. And the next set of leaders are mostly gone," Trump continued. "And now, nobody wants to be a leader over there anymore. We're having a hard time. We want to talk to them and there's nobody to talk to." 

Trump also said, "Over the past few weeks, the world has seen the true strength and might of our sailors and aviators as they fought in one of the most complex and successful military operations of all time against the Iranian regime."  

"And it's amazing... I don't want to get too crazy here, not a contest. It's not even a contest. They do whatever they want," Trump said. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey, Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A British nuclear-powered submarine has been deployed to the Arabian Sea amid rising tensions in the region and came ahead of Iran’s failed ballistic missile attempt targeting Diego Garcia, a key U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean, according to reports.

HMS Anson — a Royal Navy Astute-class submarine armed with Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes — traveled about 5,500 miles from HMAS Stirling, near Perth, Australia, to the region earlier in March.

The submarine is reportedly operating in the northern Arabian Sea, positioning Britain to respond quickly if the conflict escalates.

HMS Anson periodically surfaces to maintain communications with the U.K.’s Permanent Joint Headquarters in London, GB News reported.

TRUMP SAYS US ‘OBLITERATED’ TARGETS IN STRIKE ON KEY IRANIAN OIL HUB

The outlet reported that Anson is typically based at Faslane in Scotland, where an Iranian man has been charged with attempting to gain entry.

The deployment was said to have come shortly after the U.K. government authorized the United States to use British military bases for defensive operations targeting Iranian missile capabilities that have threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement, Downing Street said the aim of those operations was to "degrade the missile sites and capabilities" used in attacks on ships, while emphasizing that Britain does not want to be drawn into a wider regional conflict.

Tensions intensified Sunday after Iran launched two ballistic missiles toward Diego Garcia, according to multiple reports. Neither missile reached its target; one reportedly failed in flight, while the other was intercepted.

KING CHARLES TO ADDRESS 'INCREASING PRESSURES OF CONFLICT' IN SPEECH AS TRUMP CRITICIZES BRITISH PM ON IRAN

The attempted strike has raised concerns about Iran’s missile range, as Diego Garcia is roughly 2,485 miles from Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had warned Britain against supporting U.S. or Israeli military action, saying such involvement could further escalate the conflict.

Araghchi told U.K. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper that Iran views Britain’s decision to allow U.S. forces to use its bases as "participation in aggression," according to his account of the call, the BBC reported.

IRAN’S DRONE SWARMS CHALLENGE US AIR DEFENSES AS TROOPS IN MIDDLE EAST FACE RISING THREATS

He also criticized what he described as the U.K.’s "negative and biased" approach and demanded that it cease cooperation with the United States.

The U.K. did not allow the U.S. to use its bases for initial offensive strikes against Iran but later granted permission for defensive operations in response to Iranian missile threats.

Downing Street said: "We didn’t participate in the initial strikes, and we’re not getting drawn into the wider war."

Tehran has said it would exercise what it calls its right to self-defense if threatened.

Meanwhile, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said Sunday that Royal Air Force assets, including Typhoon jets, remain engaged in defensive operations in the region.

The ministry added that British forces have helped counter Iranian drone threats while coordinating closely with allies.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.K. Ministry of Defence for comment.

An Iranian man and a Romanian woman have been charged after allegedly unsuccessfully attempting to enter a nuclear missile base in Scotland this week, Police Scotland announced Saturday. 

The agency said around 5 p.m. Thursday, "we were made aware of two people attempting to enter HM Naval Base Clyde." 

"A 34-year-old Iranian man and a 31-year-old Romanian woman have been arrested and charged in connection with the incident. They are due to appear at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Monday, March 23," Police Scotland said. "Enquiries are ongoing."

Fox News Digital has reached out to Police Scotland for further comment.

IRANIAN MAN, SECOND PERSON ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY TRYING TO ENTER UK NUCLEAR MISSILE BASE

Citing the Times, the Telegraph newspaper reported that the suspects were turned away from the base because they lacked the correct passes and were later arrested nearby for allegedly "acting suspiciously in the vicinity." 

HM Naval Base Clyde, commonly known as Faslane, is considered the primary base for the United Kingdom's missile fleet. 

The Royal Navy says the base is home "to the core of the Submarine Service, including the nation's nuclear deterrent, and the new generation of hunter-killer submarines." 

TRUMP WARNS OF IRANIAN 'SLEEPER CELLS' AS CANADA ACCUSED OF HARBORING REGIME OPERATIVES

The U.K. Parliament says the Royal Navy operates a fleet of nine submarines, and the entire fleet is based at HM Naval Base Clyde.

"Five of those are conventionally-armed nuclear-powered attack submarines of the Astute class. A further four are ballistic missiles submarines (SSBN) of the Vanguard class that comprise the UK’s submarine-based nuclear deterrent," it added. 

"Police Scotland have arrested two people who unsuccessfully attempted to enter HM Naval Base Clyde on Thursday 19 March," a Royal Navy spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital Friday.

"As the matter is subject to an ongoing investigation, we will not comment further." 

Denmark prepared to sabotage Greenland’s airstrips using explosives and flew in blood supplies amid fears of a potential U.S. invasion earlier this year, according to a new report by Danish public broadcaster DR.

The measures were said to be part of a contingency plan that included deploying troops to the island in January with explosives for possible runway demolition aimed at preventing U.S. aircraft from landing, EuroNews said.

The measures were outlined in a Danish military operations order dated Jan. 13, which DR said it had reviewed.

RUSSIA, CHINA SQUEEZE US ARCTIC DEFENSE ZONE AS TRUMP EYES GREENLAND

The preparations were made as tensions escalated over President Donald Trump’s statement that the U.S. should control Greenland for national security reasons.

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen repeatedly rejected Trump’s demands to acquire the island.

DR said it based its report on 12 sources within the highest levels of the Danish government and military and sources among Denmark’s allies in France and Germany, the BBC said.

TRUMP’S GREENLAND PUSH DRIVES DANISH PM TO CALL EARLY ELECTION

"When Trump says all the time that he wants to buy Greenland … we had to take all possible scenarios seriously," an unnamed Danish military official told DR.

Denmark and several European allies also deployed troops to Greenland under what was a NATO exercise called Arctic Endurance.

In reality, according to the sources cited by DR, the deployment was operational.

Soldiers arrived equipped not only with standard military gear but also with the medical supplies and the explosives, the report said.  France, Germany and Sweden also took part in the January deployment.

Despite the preparations, Danish authorities sought to avoid escalation with Washington.

Trump announced a vague "framework" agreement on Greenland with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Jan. 21, though details remain unclear.

TRUMP SENDING US MILITARY HOSPITAL SHIP TO GREENLAND TO 'TAKE CARE' OF SICK

At the World Economic forum in Davos Trump said, "I don't want to use force. I won't use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland."

On March 17, the commander of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), Gen. Gregory Guillot, said, "We are working with Denmark through the Department of State to expand some of the authorities that are in the 1951 treaty to give increased access to different bases across Greenland.

"But everything that we're doing through NORTHCOM is through Greenland and through Denmark."

A retired U.S. general predicted that "neither Israel nor the U.S. will fully succeed in replacing the Iranian regime." 

Former Lt. Gen. Mark Schwartz was quoted by the Israel Hayom newspaper as making the remark. The joint U.S. and Israeli missions against Iran, named Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion, are in their 20th day Thursday.

"In my professional assessment, neither Israel nor the U.S. will fully succeed in replacing the Iranian regime. The main reason is that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of Iranian religious leaders who can replace the Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah, if he is eliminated," Schwartz told Israel Hayom. 

"No matter how many successors you kill one after another, there will always be another one in line. Iran's intelligence and security apparatus, the Revolutionary Guards, and the Iranian military also have depth. They are capable of replacing the top of the organization if it is destroyed," he reportedly added. 

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI ‘MISFUNCTIONING,’ NOT CONTROLLING REGIME: SOURCES 

Schwartz is a career Green Beret who served in the U.S. Army for 33 years, according to The National Special Forces Green Beret Memorial, where he is the chairman of the advisory board.  

The organization said, "During his career, Mark served throughout the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa," and, "He has had the opportunity to lead strategic planning and operations working with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States Agency for International Development." 

PENTAGON SEEKS AT LEAST $200 BILLION FROM CONGRESS FOR IRAN WAR 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had warned Wednesday that if the Iranian regime survives Operation Epic Fury, "it will likely seek to begin a yearslong effort to rebuild its military, missiles and UAV forces."   

Gabbard also said the intelligence community "assesses that Operation Epic Fury is advancing fundamental change in the region that began with Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023, and continued with the 12-day war last year, resulting in weakening Iran and its proxies."   

The campaign so far has resulted in the killing of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been replaced by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. 

Belgium is ramping up security for its Jewish community after a recent synagogue attack heightened fears across Europe, as a newly emerged terrorist group with suspected ties to Iran has claimed responsibility for a series of strikes on Jewish targets across the continent.

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, translated as "The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right," said it carried out multiple attacks recently, including the March 9 explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, according to a Fox News Digital report. The group also claimed responsibility for an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam, Belgium, and an explosive attack on a Jewish school in Amsterdam. 

A fourth incident at a Jewish site in Greece has been linked to the group by several sources, though details about that attack remain limited. 

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said March 15 that "a jihadi group tied to an Iranian proxy" was behind the attacks, adding that "the IRGC continues to sponsor and export terror across the globe," referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

NYC BOOSTS PATROLS AMID ‘HEIGHTENED THREAT ENVIRONMENT,' AFTER GUNMAN RAMS TRUCK INTO MICHIGAN SYNAGOGUE

Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin described the blast outside a synagogue in the eastern city of Liège as a "despicable antisemitic act" that directly targeted the country’s Jewish community.

Prime Minister Bart De Wever responded on X Monday morning, writing, "Antisemitism is an attack on our values and our society, and we must combat it unequivocally. We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Liège and throughout the country."

Joe Truzman, senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of its Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital that the war in Iran has likely "compelled the group, for whoever is behind this, to start launching these attacks." 

Truzman said he "suspect(s) this organization is being directed" and that there is "an entity behind it." 

In response to the attack in Liège, Belgian officials announced increased protection measures.

"To protect our Jewish community, we are deploying military personnel to support security on our streets. The safety of every citizen must be guaranteed," Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken wrote on X Monday. "Antisemitism and hatred against Jews will never be tolerated. We will stand firm against it, always."

CANADA’S CARNEY UNDER PRESSURE TO ACT AFTER SYNAGOGUES SHOT AT IN LATEST ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS

The move drew praise from U.S. officials.

"Last week, I urged Belgian officials to adequately protect Jewish communities—thank you, Defense Minister Francken and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prévot, for stepping up with increased security measures," Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism at the State Department, wrote, adding that he looks forward to working with Belgian counterparts "to safeguard the Jewish community."

Undersecretary of State Sarah B. Rogers also welcomed the decision, calling it a rare example of action rather than rhetoric.

"We hear a lot of talk about combating antisemitism and other forms of hatred — but it’s satisfying to see practical action, like this, to guard the public square against brute terrorist violence targeting Jews and others," Rogers wrote on X. "Liberty in the tweets, order in the streets."

Belgium long has maintained heightened security around Jewish institutions following past attacks, including the 2014 shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels that killed four people — one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in the country’s modern history.

Still, Jewish organizations warn the current moment reflects a renewed and dangerous escalation.

"This criminal act against a Jewish house of worship is deeply alarming and part of a broader and troubling rise in antisemitic incidents and violent extremism across Europe," the World Jewish Congress said in a March 10 statement.

Fox News Digital reporter Beth Bailey and Reuters contributed to this report.

Belgium is ramping up security for its Jewish community after a recent synagogue attack heightened fears across Europe, as a newly emerged terrorist group with suspected ties to Iran has claimed responsibility for a series of strikes on Jewish targets across the continent.

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, translated as "The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right," said it carried out multiple attacks recently, including the March 9 explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, according to a Fox News Digital report. The group also claimed responsibility for an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam, Belgium, and an explosive attack on a Jewish school in Amsterdam. A fourth incident at a Jewish site in Greece has been linked to the group by several sources, though details about that attack remain limited. 

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said March 15 that "a jihadi group tied to an Iranian proxy" was behind the attacks, adding that "the IRGC continues to sponsor and export terror across the globe," referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

NYC BOOSTS PATROLS AMID ‘HEIGHTENED THREAT ENVIRONMENT,' AFTER GUNMAN RAMS TRUCK INTO MICHIGAN SYNAGOGUE

Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin described the blast outside a synagogue in the eastern city of Liège as a "despicable antisemitic act" that directly targeted the country’s Jewish community.

Prime Minister Bart De Wever responded on X Monday morning, writing, "Antisemitism is an attack on our values and our society, and we must combat it unequivocally. We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Liège and throughout the country."

Joe Truzman, senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the FDD’s Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital that the war in Iran has likely "compelled the group, for whoever is behind this, to start launching these attacks." Truzman said he "suspect[s] this organization is being directed" and that there is "an entity behind it." 

In response to the attack in Liège, Belgian officials announced increased protection measures.

"To protect our Jewish community, we are deploying military personnel to support security on our streets. The safety of every citizen must be guaranteed," Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken wrote on X Monday. "Antisemitism and hatred against Jews will never be tolerated. We will stand firm against it, always."

CANADA’S CARNEY UNDER PRESSURE TO ACT AFTER SYNAGOGUES SHOT AT IN LATEST ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS

The move drew praise from U.S. officials.

"Last week, I urged Belgian officials to adequately protect Jewish communities—thank you, Defense Minister Francken and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prévot, for stepping up with increased security measures," Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism at the Department of State, wrote, adding that he looks forward to working with Belgian counterparts "to safeguard the Jewish community."

Under Secretary of State Sarah B. Rogers also welcomed the decision, calling it a rare example of action rather than rhetoric.

"We hear a lot of talk about combating antisemitism and other forms of hatred — but it’s satisfying to see practical action, like this, to guard the public square against brute terrorist violence targeting Jews and others," Rogers wrote on X. "Liberty in the tweets, order in the streets."

Belgium has long maintained heightened security around Jewish institutions following past attacks, including the 2014 shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels that killed four people — one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in the country’s modern history.

Still, Jewish organizations warn the current moment reflects a renewed and dangerous escalation.

"This criminal act against a Jewish house of worship is deeply alarming and part of a broader and troubling rise in antisemitic incidents and violent extremism across Europe," the World Jewish Congress said in a March 10 statement.

Fox News Digital reporter Beth Bailey and Reuters contributed to this report.

As the U.S.–Iran war enters a new phase, the range of options now being discussed stretches from hitting Iran’s economic and oil lifeline at Kharg Island to the far more dangerous prospect of a ground invasion, or a narrower operation focused on Iran’s nuclear material. 

The urgency comes as recent U.S. strikes have degraded parts of Iran’s military infrastructure without collapsing the regime, raising pressure on the Trump administration to decide what comes next. 

Each option carries significant risks: disrupting Kharg Island could shock global oil markets, a ground invasion could draw the U.S. into a prolonged regional war, and operations targeting nuclear material could trigger escalation while still failing to eliminate the threat. 

TOP IRANIAN OFFICIAL, COMMANDER KILLED IN STRIKE, ISRAEL DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS

What happens next could determine not only the trajectory of the conflict with Iran, but also the stability of global energy supply and the future of Tehran’s nuclear program.

Recent U.S. strikes already hit military targets on Kharg Island, a small island in the Persian Gulf that serves as Iran’s main oil export terminal that has emerged as a central pressure point in the conflict, while sparing its oil infrastructure, underscoring just how consequential the next move could be.

Kharg Island is the centerpiece of Iran’s oil export system. The island handles about 90% of Iran’s oil exports, and Iran recently has been exporting roughly 1.1 million to 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, mostly to China. 

Recent U.S. strikes on Kharg targeted military installations while leaving key oil facilities intact — a sign that Washington is trying to preserve a major pressure point without immediately detonating global oil markets.

Abdullah Aljunaid, a Bahraini analyst, told Fox News Digital that after Iran’s military capabilities were weakened, the U.S. focus could shift to economic pressure on Iran. 

"The Iranian military capacity and offensive abilities have been totally degraded, so we need to probably do something else," Aljunaid said.

Aljunaid pointed to key strategic sites, including Bushehr — a coastal city in southern Iran on the Persian Gulf that hosts the country’s only operational nuclear power plant and a key port — and Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub.

"We need to take certain strategic assets — geography — like Bushehr and Kharg, out of the equation," he said. "Those two, especially Kharg, represent the jewel of the crown, and without that, Iran’s economic ability to finance itself is going to be dead."

He added that control over key maritime choke points could further shift the balance. 

"If the U.S. decided to take Bushehr at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, then I believe we can really see a different equation, forcing the Iranians to come to the negotiating table on our terms — the U.S. terms, and probably the rest of the world."

Retired Gen. Jack Keane has argued that the U.S. could take Iran’s main oil export hub if it chose to do so, but so far has chosen "not to take that now," he said on Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures."

Keane said such a move would effectively put the Iranian regime in "checkmate," given how heavily its economy depends on the island. 

"Now we (would) own all of their major assets," Keane said. "It's 50% of their budget, 60% of the revenue, 80, 90% of the distribution points for their oil." 

That view reflects the logic behind a Kharg scenario: disable the regime’s cash flow without launching a full-scale war across Iran’s interior. At the same time, the fact that Kharg’s oil infrastructure was reportedly spared suggests Washington thinks taking the island fully offline could send energy prices sharply higher and shake global markets. 

Kharg’s facilities include major storage capacity and any serious disruption there could remove up to roughly 2 million barrels a day from global supply. 

There also is a nonkinetic version of this scenario. 

In an analysis shared with Fox News Digital, Rick Clay, who served as a senior deputy advisor in Iraq from 2003 to 2009, argued that maritime insurance can function as a strategic choke point. 

His argument is that a tanker without recognized coverage cannot easily dock, finance cargo or operate in compliant markets, meaning the United States could pressure Iran’s export system financially even without physically seizing the island.

IRAN MOVES HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN CRYPTO DURING NATIONWIDE INTERNET BLACKOUT, REPORT REVEALS

Public analyses have long described Iran’s geography as deeply unfavorable to invading armies, with mountain barriers and desert terrain complicating any large-scale advance. 

Historical comparisons often point to Iraq’s failed 1980 invasion of Iran, which turned into a long and bloody war rather than the quick victory Saddam Hussein expected.

The term "Fortress Iran" is often used by analysts to describe the country’s natural defenses — a combination of vast mountain ranges, including the Zagros and Alborz, along with deserts and difficult terrain that have historically made invasion and occupation extremely challenging.

For those reasons, analysts say a ground invasion remains the most extreme — and least plausible — path, given Iran’s size, terrain and history.

Aljunaid made a similar point, noting that even the 1991 liberation of Kuwait required more than half a million troops, and warning that a war inside Iran would be exponentially more complicated.

That concern is reinforced by the current state of the conflict. 

Despite sustained U.S.-Israeli strikes and heavy damage to Iran’s military infrastructure, the regime itself remains intact and more hardline, The Washington Post reported, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps consolidating power rather than collapsing. 

In other words, air superiority has not translated into regime collapse, which makes the leap to occupation even harder to imagine.

TRUMP SAYS US "TOTALLY DESTROYING" IRAN: "WATCH WHAT HAPPENS TO THESE DERANGED SCUMBAGS TODAY"

"We’re not going to put troops on the mainland," Clay said. "The only troops you might see, if anything, would be to take out those three islands. That’s it."

He added that there is "no appetite" for a sustained ground presence inside Iran, arguing that any internal change would ultimately depend on the Iranian people.

 "It’s going to be in the Iranians’ hands at that point — the Iranian people — whether they rise up," he said. "We’ve done damage. We’re still going to do some more damage. We’re not done." 

A third scenario would aim not at occupying territory, but at Iran's nuclear program itself. 

A narrower operation likely would involve targeting Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles and deeply buried facilities — potentially including efforts to locate, secure or disable nuclear material that cannot be destroyed from the air.

Although President Donald Trump said the June 2025 U.S. strikes had "obliterated" key nuclear sites, analysts note that critical elements of Iran’s program — particularly enriched uranium stockpiles and deeply buried facilities — likely remain intact.

Iran is believed to possess roughly 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with more than 200 kilograms likely stored in the underground Isfahan tunnel complex, Reuters reported March 9.

That matters because the material is small enough to hide and move, unlike oil infrastructure, and some of these deeply buried facilities are believed to have survived conventional air attacks — raising the possibility that securing or neutralizing nuclear material could require more targeted, specialized operations.

Kharg Island offers a way to squeeze Iran’s economy. A ground invasion offers the possibility of a decisive force at extraordinary cost. Targeted operations against nuclear equipment offer a narrower path, but one with high operational risk and no guarantee of finality. 

The next phase of the war may depend on which of those risks Washington is willing to take.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital, "President Trump and the administration have clearly outlined the goals of Operation Epic Fury: destroy Iran’s ballistic missiles and production capacity, demolish their navy, end their ability to arm proxies, and prevent them from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon." 

"This effort will continue until President Trump, as commander in chief, determines that the goals of the operation, including for Iran to no longer pose a military threat, have been fully realized," she added. 

The Pentagon chose not to provide a comment. 

Reuters contributed to this report.  

Iran is deploying explosive-laden drone boats disguised as wooden fishing vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a defense expert has warned — a move that signals a new phase of hybrid maritime warfare in one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.

Cameron Chell, CEO of drone technology firm Draganfly, spoke after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed that a Marshall Islands–flagged oil tanker was struck March 1 by an Iranian unmanned surface vehicle north of Muscat, Oman.

"UKMTO has received confirmation that the vessel was attacked by an uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), and that the crew has been evacuated to shore," UKMTO said in a threat assessment.

Reports also indicated that two additional oil tankers were hit March 11 by remote-controlled explosive boats in the Gulf, as Iran intensified attacks on foreign vessels following the start of the U.S. Operation Epic Fury against the regime on Feb. 28.

FIRES RAGE AT IRAN'S BANDAR ABBAS NAVAL HEADQUARTERS, STRAIT OF HORMUZ TRAFFIC STALLED

The use of so-called "suicide skiffs" represents a growing asymmetric threat in the narrow, 21-mile-wide Strait, Chell warned, while highlighting the technological capabilities behind these attacks.

"The Iranians probably have use of radio remote control, line of sight, frequency hopping, or encrypted radio communication between the skiffs and the Hormuz shoreline," Chell told Fox News Digital.

"These can be jammed and tracked, but when there's 50 of these boats, it's hard to try to find them all along this shoreline or to find a 20-foot wooden fishing boat that is laden with explosives.

"They can have one person controlling a swarm of 10 boats," he said before describing how there "could also be autonomous swarming where they might have 10 boats that can act with a large level of independence, because they're pre-programmed."

"The boats would be used to ram into targets and explode," Chell clarified.

EX-NAVY SEAL WARNS WITHDRAWING FROM IRAN NOW WOULD HAND 'VICTORY' TO REGIME

Chell’s comments followed a March 12 Reuters report stating that six vessels had been attacked in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz. 

Sources said that Iran had also deployed about a dozen mines, complicating efforts to maintain any traffic through the critical waterway.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Sky News Thursday that the U.S. Navy, potentially alongside an international coalition, would escort ships when militarily feasible.

U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey also said discussions were underway with European counterparts stressing the global economic stakes tied to the strait. Chell, however, questioned current defensive readiness.

"The drone defense fleets that the U.S. Navy would not have been set up to take these suicide skiffs out," Chell said.

"The U.S. would be using manned aircraft in order to take them out, which are fantastic at taking out a large target, but inefficient in taking out 50 boats at one time that are an average of 25 or 30 feet in size, laden with explosives.

IRAN’S DRONE SWARMS CHALLENGE US AIR DEFENSES AS TROOPS IN MIDDLE EAST FACE RISING THREATS

"Given the Strait's geography, it would require patrolling by many aircraft and would require pervasive surveillance over the area, a rapid response to any activity that's happening," he said.

As Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait closed as leverage against the U.S. and Israel, oil prices continue to surge, with Chell also highlighting the geographic advantage Iran holds.

"The geographic layout of the Strait lends itself very well to relatively unsophisticated suicide skiffs, unmanned surface vehicles or USVs," he warned before describing how the area "lends itself to this low-cost, automatic, asymmetric warfare."

"The Iranians can disguise them as fishing boats and can be anywhere from 12 to 30 feet, and a boat could be of any description," Chell said.

"These skiffs are equipped with basic remote control capabilities that may or may not be using GPS waypoints or manual remote control."

"The skiffs are not autonomous, because the distance across the Strait is so short, and it's very flat across this waterway, the communication signal could be carried for quite some time via a line of sight," he added.

"They could literally have hundreds out there at a time, because they're also so inexpensive to defend against," Chell said.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that more casualties are expected in the ongoing Operation Epic Fury in Iran, with seven U.S. soldiers having been killed so far in the fighting.

Hegseth made the comment during an interview with CBS’ "60 Minutes" that aired on Sunday.

"The president's been right to say there will be casualties," Hegseth said. "Things like this don't happen without casualties."

"There will be more casualties," he continued. "And no one is — I mean, especially our generation knows what it's like to see Americans come home in caskets, it's — but that doesn't weaken us one bit. It stiffens our spine and our resolve to say this is a fight we will finish."

WATCH: CAPITOL HILL DEBATE ERUPTS OVER WHETHER TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKES AMOUNT TO ‘WAR’

Six U.S. service members were killed in a March 1 Iranian drone attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, while supporting Operation Epic Fury. The U.S. military said a seventh service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1.

The U.S. and Israel last week launched joint strikes against Iran. Iran has retaliated, launching strikes against Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi on Sunday told NBC News’ "Meet the Press" that if the U.S. deploys ground troops in Iran, "we have very brave soldiers who are waiting for any enemy who enters into our soil, to fight with them and to kill them and destroy them."

HEGSETH BLASTS BRITS, SAYS IRAN'S CHAOTIC RETALIATION HAS DRIVEN ITS OWN ALLIES 'INTO THE AMERICAN ORBIT'

"We never give up, we never surrender, and we continue to resist as long as it takes," he said. "We continue to defend ourselves, and we are defending our territory, our people and our dignity. And our dignity is not for sale."

When reporters asked President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One on Saturday about potential ground troops being used in the Iran operation, the president said there would "have to be a very good reason."

"And I would say if we ever did that, [Iran] would be so decimated they wouldn't be able to fight at the ground level," Trump told reporters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Sunday issued a safety warning to civilians in Iran, accusing the regime of launching military operations from densely populated areas and putting civilian lives at risk.

CENTCOM said Iranian forces are using "heavily populated" cities, including Dezful, Isfahan and Shiraz, to launch one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles. U.S. forces urged civilians in Iran to remain at home, warning that locations used for military purposes could lose protected status under international law and become legitimate targets.

"Iran’s terrorist regime is blatantly disregarding civilian lives by attacking Gulf partners while compromising the safety of their own people," Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said in a statement.

CENTCOM said U.S. forces take "every feasible precaution" to minimize civilian harm but cannot guarantee safety near facilities used by the Iranian regime for military purposes.

IRAN PROXIES WAGE WAR ON ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS AS IRAQ SLAMMED FOR NOT DISARMING THEM

CENTCOM's announcement said Tehran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of drones since the start of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, though launch rates have declined as U.S. and partner forces have targeted Iran’s military capabilities.

Iran has targeted civilian airports and hotels across the Middle East as part of retaliatory attacks against several Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.

AMERICAN STUCK IN MIDDLE EAST ESCAPES IN RACE TO REACH CRITICALLY ILL HUSBAND IN CALIFORNIA

The UAE’s Ministry of Defense on Sunday released footage of its air defenses intercepting and destroying Iranian drones.

The ministry said 17 ballistic missiles were detected, with 16 destroyed and one falling into the sea. 

Air defenses also detected 117 drones, intercepting 113 of them while four fell within the country’s territory.

STATE DEPARTMENT DEFENDS ‘PROACTIVE’ EVACUATION EFFORTS AGAINST DEMS' CLAIMS OF DIPLOMATIC CHAOS

Since the start of Iran’s attacks, the UAE says it has intercepted 221 ballistic missiles and 1,342 drones, along with eight cruise missiles.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed on X that Iran has not attacked "friendly and neighboring countries," saying its strikes have been aimed at U.S. military bases and installations in the region.

A Russian ballistic missile strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, killed at least 10 people, including two children, and wounded 16 others Saturday, officials said.

The strike was part of a broader overnight assault in which Russia launched 29 missiles and 480 drones targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, with damage reported in Kyiv and at seven other locations across the country, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy called for an international response following the attack.

"There must be a response from partners to these savage strikes against life. I thank everyone who will not remain silent. Russia has not abandoned its attempts to destroy Ukraine’s residential and critical infrastructure, and therefore support must continue," he said in a post on X.

ZELENSKYY ANNOUNCES NEXT ROUND OF TALKS WITH US, RUSSIA AS UKRAINE AIMS FOR 'REAL AND DIGNIFIED END TO THE WAR

"We count on active work with the European Union to guarantee greater protection for our people," he added. "I am grateful to everyone who helps strengthen our protection."

Preliminary Ukrainian data showed air defense systems downed 19 missiles and 453 drones, while nine missiles and 26 strike drones hit 22 locations.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted Ukrainian military factories, energy facilities and air bases.

TRUMP SAYS 'HATRED' BETWEEN PUTIN, ZELENSKYY BLOCKING UKRAINE PEACE DEAL

Speaking Saturday at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Florida, President Donald Trump said the "hatred" between Russia and Ukraine was complicating efforts to reach a peace deal.

"It's so great that, you know, Ukraine, Russia, you'd think there would be a little bit of camaraderie, [but] there’s not. And the hatred is so great. It's very hard for them to get there. It's very, very hard to get there. So we'll see what happens," Trump said. "But we've been close a lot of times and one or the other would back out." 

"But we're losing, you know, they're losing, you know, doesn't really affect us very much because we've got an ocean separating. I'm doing it as a favor to Europe, and I'm doing it as a favor to life because they're losing 25,000 souls," Trump added. "Think of that every month. 25,000. Last month, 31,000.  Both sides, 31,000 people died, mostly soldiers."

Last month, Zelenskyy told Fox News that Russia is trying "to play with the president of the United States" and stalling U.S.-brokered efforts to end the war.

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman-Diamond and The Associated Press contributed to this report.