{"id":8731,"date":"2026-03-03T09:21:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T15:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/?p=8731"},"modified":"2026-03-09T10:24:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T15:24:06","slug":"8731","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/2026\/03\/03\/8731\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

CBS is actually not one of the best regular sources of wide coverage in the Middle East, but it popped up and has a decently accurate set of stories today from which to start.\u00a0 \u201cLive Updates: U.S.-Israeli war with Iran spreads, as Iran’s neighbors warn strikes won’t “go unanswered,\u201d<\/a> CBS, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cBritain, France, and Greece reinforce Cyprus amid Iranian threats,\u201d<\/a> i24, 3-3-26.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBritain reportedly plans to send warship HMS Duncan to Cyprus to protect RAF Akrotiri from potential Iranian attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

This blog has regularly called out enablers, Russia and China.\u00a0 Now we notice what happens when the kitchen gets hot.\u00a0 See \u201cWhy China Is Doing So Little to Help a Friend Under Fire,\u201d<\/a> WSJ, 3-3-26.\u00a0 And see\u00a0\u201cPutin\u2019s friendship has limits \u2014 as Iran just found out,\u201d<\/a> Politico, 2-28-26.\u00a0\u00a0You have to hope that Brics and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are seeing the writing on the wall.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve noticed my seemingly regular criticism of the New York Times, while I hope readers see that it is one of many open sources on which I rely.\u00a0 The NYT just gets a number of things wrong while also giving breadth of news that compliments much of the data I collect.\u00a0 In this story they make Israel out to be the greedy land grabbing country that wants to bend the Middle East to its will.\u00a0 That is an absolute wrong reading of the present and of history. \u00a0Maybe even anti-Semitic. \u00a0Instead, since 1979 Iran has been bent on surrounding and defeating Israel (while also opposing the U.S., Saudi Arabia, etc.) by the creation of Hezbollah, terrorism, opposition through international organizations, proxies, direction of Syria against Israel, hijackings, Munich (I\u2019m not doing these in order, and they overlap anyway), assassinations worldwide, Argentina, up to the present support of the Hamas 2023 attack.\u00a0 It is now Israel that is freeing itself of 45 years of oppression.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that what we want?\u00a0 Will the NYT support Syria and its unyoking from Iran?\u00a0 Will the NYT support Lebanon and its attempts to rid itself of the Iran-controlling Hezbollah?\u00a0 What is the purpose of the NYT one has to ask?\u00a0 See \u201cAn Emboldened Israel Is Seizing Opportunities to Remake Region,\u201d<\/a> NYT, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

An aside.\u00a0 Some have, with quantitative data in hand, including Freedom House, showed that authoritarianism is on the rise over the past 10 years, and that these dictators support each other, from China\u2019s buying Iran oil, to Iran selling drones to Russia, to Venezuela supporting Iran and Cuba, etc.\u00a0 Putting apart the threats against Greenland, the U.S. moves against Maduro and Khamenei are from a different playbook.\u00a0 We have a different foreign policy going on here.\u00a0 \u201cThe credibility of the anti-interventionist faction took another hit following Trump\u2019s successful operation to capture Venezuelan president Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, which did not devolve into the sort of regime-change quagmire that some conservative restrainers feared.\u201d\u00a0 See \u201c\u2018Pretty Bad for Vance\u2019: The VP\u2019s Silence on Iran Peeves Allies,\u201d<\/a> Politico, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

In case you don\u2019t know of the MEK, around since 1979.\u00a0 This is the other option besides Pahlavi.\u00a0 \u201cThe Iranian exile group that played Washington for this moment,\u201d<\/a> Politico, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy Europe’s leaders have struggled to speak as one on Iran,\u201d<\/a> BBC, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

“Missile shrapnel falls in central Israel, 12 wounded as Iran continues barrage,\u201d<\/a> JPost, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

Deceiving headline.\u00a0 \u201cMarkets Fall and Oil Surges as U.S. Warns of Extended War\u201d<\/a> in NYT, 3-3-26.\u00a0 But when you click on it you read \u201cLive Updates: Global Markets Tumble After U.S. Warns War Could Last Weeks.\u201d\u00a0 That my friends is not an extended war.\u00a0 Remember the 12 day hostilities in June 2025?\u00a0 You can call it a war if you want, there was certainly force and violence.\u00a0 And much of the anti-air and nuclear sites were targeted.\u00a0 But we didn\u2019t know how long it would take, nor how violent.\u00a0 Open hostilities that last weeks are not long.\u00a0 Look at the history of warfare.\u00a0 Look at how the West has had to deal with Iran in the past.<\/p>\n

Don’t be surprised.\u00a0 Since assisting the people to step forward and not have the IRGC or the Regime trying to kill them, it is only natural that the U.S. and Israel (and the UK we can now add because these are defensive strikes!) would act to stop the Assembly of Experts (meeting in the city of Qom) from appointing a new Supreme Leader.\u00a0 This is a legitimate target of war, not simply a religious body meeting for a religious purpose.\u00a0 This model of government has already been tried and has been found wanting.\u00a0 “IDF flattens building in Qom as Iranian leadership reportedly met to choose a Supreme Leader | LIVE BLOG,\u201d<\/a> i24, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump open to backing armed Iranian militia groups \u2013 WSJ,\u201d<\/a> Iran International, 3-3-26.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cPresident Donald Trump is open to supporting groups in Iran willing to take up arms to dislodge the regime, an idea that could turn Iranian factions into ground forces at least rhetorically backed by Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials. The officials said Trump has spoken with Kurdish leaders and is engaging other local figures who could seek to exploit Tehran\u2019s weakness, though no final decision has been made on whether the United States would provide arms, training or intelligence support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEx-CIA director says Iran erred by expanding attacks to Persian Gulf states,\u201d<\/a> Iran International, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

This is big news.\u00a0 \u201cCIA working to arm Kurdish forces to spark uprising in Iran, sources say,\u201d<\/a> CNN, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran Strikes U.S. Military Communication Infrastructure in Mideast,\u201d<\/a> NYT, 3-3-26.\u00a0 From where did Iran get this intelligence?<\/p>\n

\u201cQatar announces arrest of Iran\u2019s IRGC sleeper cells,\u201d<\/a> Al Jazeera, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIAEA confirms buildings damaged at Iran\u2019s Natanz nuclear facility,\u201d<\/a> Al Jazeera, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIDF eliminates top Iran Quds Force Lebanon commander in Tehran,\u201d<\/a> i24, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cU.S. and Israel Striking Iran Security Agencies That Helped Crush Protests,\u201d<\/a> NYT, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy China Is Doing So Little to Help a Friend Under Fire,\u201d<\/a> WSJ, 3-3-26.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CBS is actually not one of the best regular sources of wide coverage in the Middle East, but it popped up and has a decently accurate set of stories today from which to start.\u00a0 \u201cLive Updates: U.S.-Israeli war with Iran spreads, as Iran’s neighbors warn strikes won’t “go unanswered,\u201d CBS, 3-3-26. \u201cBritain, France, and Greece … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2819,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2532],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-update"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2819"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8731"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8801,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8731\/revisions\/8801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}