USA - Washington, like many times before, projects its own assumptions onto a political culture it only half understands. Too many decisive variables lie outside any tidy regional model. Decisions in Washington matter. China’s posture matters. The calculations of global financial and political elites matter. The private thresholds of risk among Gulf monarchies matter. No serious analyst can fold all of that into a neat formula. The present phase should be understood not as a finale but as an interval. Iran has not broken. The US has not imposed a decisive settlement. Israel has not secured strategic closure. What we have seen is another brutal round in a longer contest whose stakes now extend far beyond the Middle East.

USA - The US is rapidly depleting its weapons stockpiles and has “burned through years” of some critical munitions since starting its war against Iran, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. In a closed‑door briefing on Tuesday, Pentagon officials estimated that the first six days of the US war with Iran have already cost at least $11.3 billion, according to the outlet. The rapid munitions drain has stoked fears over the soaring cost of the war and Washington’s capacity to restock key weapons, including advanced long-range Tomahawk missiles, the FT said. The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that US forces fired 168 Tomahawk cruise missile during the first 100 hours of the operation against Iran. “That’s a huge Tomahawk expenditure. The Navy will feel that for several years,” one source told the outlet, adding that the US is facing a shortfall that is unlikely to be fixed anytime soon.

USA - A torrent of fake videos and images generated by artificial intelligence have overrun social networks during the first weeks of the war in Iran. The videos — showing huge explosions that never happened, decimated city streets that were never attacked or troops protesting the war who do not exist — have added a chaotic and confusing layer to the conflict online. The New York Times identified over 110 unique AI-generated images and videos from the past two weeks about the war in the Middle East. The fakes covered every aspect of the fighting: They falsely depicted screaming Israelis cowering as explosions ripped through Tel Aviv, Iranians mourning their dead and American military vessels bombarded with missiles and torpedoes. Collectively, they were seen millions of times online through networks like X, TikTok and Facebook, and countless more times within private messaging apps popular in the region and around the world.

LEBANON - Israel is reportedly preparing a “massive” ground invasion of southern Lebanon aimed at pushing the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group away from the Israeli border and dismantling its weapons infrastructure. According to a report from Axios, the operation would target territory south of the Litani River, an area Israeli security officials see as critical to preventing Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. The move follows a large-scale rocket barrage earlier this week, when Hezbollah launched more than 200 rockets toward northern Israel. Officials said the attack was coordinated with Iran, which launched missiles at Israel at the same time. Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Friday the group was prepared for a prolonged military confrontation.

IRAQ - A missile struck the United States Embassy compound in Baghdad early Saturday morning, destroying part of its air defense system and sending plumes of smoke over one of the most heavily fortified areas in the Iraqi capital. The projectile landed within the embassy’s boundaries in the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district in central Baghdad that houses Iraqi government institutions and foreign embassies. Images from verified accounts on social media showed damage to the embassy’s Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM) air defense system and its associated radar, with signs of fire observed at the site. No US casualties have been reported so far, and the US Embassy had not yet issued an official statement as of early Saturday.

USA - Donald Trump has demanded Britain send warships to help defend the Strait of Hormuz and avert a global recession. The US President had previously slapped down Sir Keir Starmer, saying earlier this month that his offer of assistance was no longer needed because the war was already won. But on a day of escalating tension in which Tehran threatened to use helicopters to kidnap US soldiers, Mr Trump urged the UK to join an international armada to force open the blockaded Strait, where Iran has begun laying mines. It came as Iran's foreign minister confirmed in an interview that his country was receiving military help from Russia and China. Mr Trump's plea for help followed the most devastating bombing raid of the war yet. He boasted of 'obliterating' military facilities on Kharg Island off the coast of Iran – home to a major oil terminal considered the country's economic lifeline.

USA - In 1961, John F Kennedy addressed a crowd, pledging that decade to do something hard and audacious — “more important than any other scientific enterprise”. This speech was, instead, about something actually significant. Even if, before events in the Gulf this week, few of us considered it: desalination. Kennedy wanted to achieve “one of man’s oldest dreams: securing fresh water from salt water”. It was a dream that would help us all but especially “those who live in deserts or on the edge of oceans”. We would, he said, “see the deserts bloom”.

MIDDLE EAST - It's becoming clear that Donald Trump gravely miscalculated his assault on Iran. Less than two weeks after American forces killed Ayatollah Khamenei, and with hundreds of Iranian casualties and 140 US troops injured, a treacherous problem has arisen. Two days after Operation Epic Fury was launched on February 28, Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed. Now that 25-mile-wide strip of water between the south coast of Iran and the United Arab Emirates – through which 20 per cent of the world's oil and gas exports travel – has become a chokehold.

IRAN - Iran's government is not at risk of collapse and its leadership remains broadly intact after two weeks of relentless US and Israeli bombing, classified intelligence suggests. A 'multitude' of classified reports provide 'consistent analysis that the regime is not in danger' of falling and 'retains control of the Iranian public,' sources told Reuters, with the latest completed within days. Donald Trump claimed last night the war had been 'won' and would be over 'soon' – only for six tankers to be struck by Iranian suicide boats in the Strait of Hormuz hours later, sending oil prices above $100 a barrel.

MIDDLE EAST - For a lot of people, this war with Iran is not just another war. Millions of Shiite Muslims all over the world are convinced that this is the war that will result in the rise of the Mahdi. In fact, most of Iran’s key leaders are eagerly watching for the appearance of the Mahdi. So why would they give up if they actually believe that the Mahdi is going to show up at any moment? To them, that wouldn’t make any sense at all. On the other side, there are millions of Christians all over the world that believe that this war with Iran is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Of course there is a tremendous amount of debate within Christian circles about which passages of the Bible are actually being fulfilled. But if this war with Iran is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy, we should expect other major events to soon follow.