Former intelligence official Joe Kent is suspected of leaking classified information to &#8220;disaffected MAGA media&#8221; personalities like former Fox News host Tucker Carlson — and FBI Director Kash Patel may be poised to declassify information regarding a probe into former intelligence official Joe Kent in an effort to prove that the investigation was not retaliation for his resignation.
A <a href="https://www.notus.org/trump-white-house/joe-kent-investigation-fbi-kash-patel">report</a> published Thursday by NOTUS also stated that FBI Director Kash Patel was considering declassifying as much information as possible in order to show that the investigation into Kent was already underway when he announced his plan to leave the administration.
A law enforcement source told NOTUS that FBI counterintelligence had already begun a criminal investigation into Kent&#8217;s alleged actions long before he announced his resignation. An administration official told the outlet that Kent had &#8220;leaked classified information from a server to a member of the media.&#8221;
Kent, according to a Wednesday report first published by <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/03/18/2026/fbi-investigates-national-security-aide-who-resigned-over-war">Semafor</a>, was already under the FBI&#8217;s microscope before he abruptly resigned on Tuesday and stated that he could no longer support President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration as it waged war against the Iranian regime.
The Green Beret veteran declared on Tuesday that he could not remain on the job — as director of the National Counterterrorism Center — as long as the Trump administration continued military action alongside Israel against Iran. &#8220;Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,&#8221; he claimed.
But shortly after Kent tendered his resignation, several sources revealed that he had not been part of the planning with regard to Iran — and had not been briefed on the intelligence that led President Trump to determine that Iran was, in fact, an imminent threat.
By Wednesday evening, reports began circulating that Kent was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-counterterror-chief-joe-kent-under-fbi-probe-for-leaking-classified-info">being investigated</a> by the FBI — and a strategic declassification of the relevant information could provide evidence that the investigation predated Kent&#8217;s exit from the administration.

Controversial Washington Congressional Candidate Joe Kent Holds Town Hall As He Campaigns For Office

Did Joe Kent Leak Classified Intel To Tucker Carlson?

Iran

Joe Kent

Military

Politics

Tucker Carlson

While the Iranian regime continues to attack the United States — either directly or through proxy terrorist organizations — some of the regime&#8217;s leaders have sent their own children to the United States, and a number have made themselves at home at American universities.
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/18/world-news/children-of-iran-regime-leaders-teaching-at-elite-us-universities/?utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social">shared a list</a> of several prominent Iranian leaders who have children teaching at universities in the United States — and although the report noted that none of those employed in the United States have been linked to any nefarious activity, allowing people with such close ties to regime leadership to teach American students could eventually present a risk.
<a href="https://www.fdd.org/team/janatan-sayeh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Janatan Sayeh</a>, an Iran analyst at Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, explained: &#8220;I would think that there would be a security risk as Iranian academics have been critical in forming public opinion on the left in the US, essentially deceiving liberals into thinking that the regime is more progressive, when it’s still advancing the same hardline agenda.&#8221;
Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, for example, initially came to the United States for cancer treatment. A medical doctor who worked at Emory University in Atlanta until January, she is also the daughter of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iranian-intelligence-chief-eliminated-in-overnight-israeli-strike">Ali Larijani</a> — an Iranian leader who was killed in an airstrike on Tuesday.
Lawdan Bazargan, with the Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists, noted the irony of Ardeshir-Larijani&#8217;s presence in the United States — especially given who her father was. &#8220;The daughter of Ali Larijani came to the United States for cancer treatment, the very country her family’s system condemns, while millions of Iranians are denied access to basic health care and opportunity.&#8221;
Larijani&#8217;s employment at Emory University was <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/emory-university-dismisses-daughter-senior-iranian-official-ali-larijani-campus-demonstrations">terminated</a> in January, amid protests calling for her to be fired, deported, or both. Her dismissal came just weeks after her father was sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department &#8220;for coordinating the response to the protests on behalf of the Supreme Leader of Iran&#8221; and because he &#8220;has publicly called for Iranian security forces to use force to repress peaceful protesters.&#8221;
Leila Khatami, the daughter of former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, teaches math at Schenectady&#8217;s Union College. Her ties to the regime run even deeper, as her aunt was the granddaughter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who claimed the title of Supreme Leader from 1979 until he died in 1989.
Khatami&#8217;s photo and bio were removed from Union&#8217;s faculty website after the United States and Israel began their joint campaign against the Iranian regime. The page listing her as a professor of mathematics shows only her <a href="https://www.union.edu/mathematics/faculty-staff/leila-khatami">name and title</a>.
According to the Post&#8217;s report, thousands of children of Iranian elites are currently living in the United States.

The Iranian Delegation Attends The 129th Assembly Of The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Their Parents Run The Iranian Regime. They’re Teaching Your Kids At American Universities.

Education

World

Iranblogadjusted

LIVE UPDATES: Netanyahu Takes On Iran Narrative And Flips Script On Trump Critics

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Protest

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While taking questions from reporters on Thursday, President Donald Trump blindsided Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi with made a joke referencing the 1941 surprise attack initiated by the Empire of Japan on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The question, from one of the reporters in the Oval Office, was about the current joint operation in Iran undertaken by the United States and Israel — specifically, why President Trump had not spoken with allies in Europe or Japan prior to initiating an attack against the Iranian regime.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Q: &#8220;Why didn&#8217;t you tell U.S. allies…about the war before attacking Iran?&#8221;
President Trump: &#8220;We wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn&#8217;t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/esV9iyvMiV">pic.twitter.com/esV9iyvMiV</a>
— CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/2034667305318187239?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Japan and U.S. are very good friends,&#8221; the reporter began. &#8220;But one question: why didn&#8217;t you tell U.S. Allies in Europe and Asia, like Japan, about the war before attacking Iran? So we are very confused about — we, Japanese citizens —&#8221;
&#8220;Well, one thing, you don&#8217;t want to signal too much,&#8221; Trump replied, arguing that it was unwise to give away too much of the planning before taking military action. &#8220;You know, when we go in, we went in very hard, and we didn&#8217;t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn&#8217;t you tell me about Pearl Harbor? Okay? Right?&#8221;
Prime Minister Takaichi appeared to be slightly uncomfortable as several around the room began to laugh.
&#8220;He&#8217;s asking me — no, you believe in surprise I think much more so than us,&#8221; Trump continued, pivoting back to Iran. &#8220;But we had to surprise them and we did. And because of that surprise, we knocked out — the first two days, we probably knocked out 50% of what we — and much more than we anticipated.&#8221;
&#8220;So if I go and tell everybody about it, it&#8217;s no longer a surprise, right?&#8221; the president concluded.

President Trump Hosts Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi At White House

Trump Defends Keeping Allies In The Dark With Unexpected Pearl Harbor Quip

Donald Trump

Japan

Media

Pearl Harbor

War Secretary Pete Hegseth called on the American public to lift up members of the United States Armed Forces — particularly those who might be in harm&#8217;s way — and received immediate criticism from CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan. But Hegseth&#8217;s request is far from unprecedented.
&#8220;Please pray for them, every day, on bended knee, with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2034605561983959295?s=20">Hegseth said</a>, closing out a Thursday morning press briefing on Iran alongside other military leaders.
Brennan, anchor of CBS&#8217; &#8220;Face the Nation,&#8221; responded by <a href="https://x.com/margbrennan/status/2034604792157192668">saying</a>, &#8220;The Secretary of Defense tells the American public to pray for our troops on bended knee and invoke Jesus&#8217; name &#8230;&#8221;
Brennan also accused the administration of using &#8220;religious references as justification for war,&#8221; responding to Hegseth&#8217;s comments describing the Iranian regime&#8217;s strategy as &#8220;a violent, messianic Islamist ideology chasing some sort of apocalyptic endgame.&#8221;
But prayer on the battlefield — and calls to prayer from both military and political leaders for those engaged in the fight — is nothing new.
On June 6, 1944, then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a radio address during which he invited the American people to <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/prayer-d-day">join him in prayer</a> for the Allied Forces as they stormed the beaches near Normandy, France. He finished that prayer by asking them to pray continuously for those men, both day and night, until their objective had been reached.
&#8220;Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity,&#8221; Roosevelt began. &#8220;Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.&#8221;
Roosevelt went on to pray for strength and courage in battle and acknowledged that many of those for whom he prayed would not ever return home.
&#8220;Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.&#8221;
Months later, with Allied efforts to liberate Europe well underway, <a href="https://www.historyonthenet.com/when-patton-enlisted-the-entire-third-army-to-pray-for-fair-weather">General George S. Patton</a> stood ready to lead his Third Army into battle — but the weather was a problem. In early December of 1944, just days before Patton arrived at the besieged town of Bastogne, Belgium, the general called Monsignor James H. O’Neill, the head chaplain: &#8220;This is General Patton; do you have a good prayer for weather? We must do something about those rains if we are to win the war.&#8221;
Patton&#8217;s deputy chief of staff, Colonel Paul Harkins, described the conversation that followed:
<blockquote>
Patton: &#8220;Chaplain, I want you to publish a prayer for good weather. I’m tired of these soldiers having to fight mud and floods as well as Germans. See if we can’t get God to work on our side.”
O’Neill: “Sir, it’s going to take a pretty thick rug for that kind of praying.”
Patton: “I don’t care if it takes a flying carpet. I want the praying done.”
O’Neill: “Yes, sir. May I say, General, that it usually isn’t a customary thing among men of my profession to pray for clear weather to kill fellow men.”
Patton: “Chaplain, are you trying to teach me theology or are you the Chaplain of the Third Army? I want a prayer.”
</blockquote>
The resulting prayer was printed on cards and distributed to as many of Patton&#8217;s men as possible: &#8220;Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish Thy justice among men and nations.&#8221;
Patton later explained his emphasis on prayer to O&#8217;Neill, saying that he believed men could work and plan down to the last detail, but there was always an unknown factor in play: &#8220;I call it God. God has his part, or margin, in everything.&#8221;
&#8220;I wish you would put out a Training Letter on this subject of Prayer to all the chaplains; write about nothing else, just the importance of prayer,&#8221; Patton directed O&#8217;Neill. &#8220;Let me see it before you send it. We’ve got to get not only the chaplains but every man in the Third Army to pray. We must ask God to stop these rains. These rains are that margin that holds defeat or victory. If we all pray, it will be like what Dr. Carrel said, it will be like plugging in on a current whose source is in Heaven. I believe that prayer completes that circuit. It is power.&#8221;
When General Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President of the United States, he too raised the nation and those alongside him in its leadership in private prayer. The <a style="font-size: 16px;" href="https://wallbuilders.com/resource/dwight-d-eisenhowers-inaugural-prayer/">handwritten words he prayed</a> before his inauguration in 1953 can be found at his presidential library.
&#8220;As we stand here, at this moment, my associates in the Executive Branch of government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng and their fellow citizens everywhere. Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby and by the laws of this land,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people, regardless of station, race or calling. May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who hold to differing political beliefs, so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and for Thy glory. Amen.&#8221;
One of the most famous examples of such prayer might be as <a href="https://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/washington/prayer.html?srsltid=AfmBOoq3Fz4IWMbmDeWBfTzsQIhhby64psFLCaVW9wecIYn3p2rJrnsJ#google_vignette">much myth</a> as historical fact, but the story of then-General George Washington kneeling to pray at Valley Forge has nonetheless persisted as well. The story has several versions throughout history — none of which have ever been definitively confirmed or debunked — all suggesting that Washington knelt alone to pray for his beleaguered troops during the brutal winter as they camped just outside of Philadelphia. Different accounts claim that either the Marquis de Lafayette or a local resident happened upon the general in prayer, but the overall takeaway is the same: multiple accounts agree that Washington was known to leave the camp and spend time in solitude, whether that time was used for prayer or simply quiet reflection.

Hegseth Confirmation Hearing TW

Left Targets Hegseth For Asking Americans To Pray — The History Lesson They’re Ignoring

CBS News

Christianity

Dwight D. Eisenhower

George Patton

Pete Hegseth

Prayer

In deeply moving remarks today at a press briefing, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recounted how families of soldiers fallen in the war against Iran urged him to “finish the job.”
“Yesterday at Dover Air Force Base, President Trump, the chairman [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine] and I stood in solemn silence as heroes came home,” Hegseth began. “Flag-draped caskets. We honored them. We grieved with their families. And we listened.”
“What I heard through tears, through hugs, through strength, and through unbreakable resolve, was the same from family after family,” he continued. “They said, &#8216;Finish this. Honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop. Until the job is done.&#8217;”
“My response, along with that of the president, was simple,” he said. “‘Of course, we will finish this. We will honor their sacrifice.’ Their sacrifice only steels our commitment.”
Hegseth then recalled a personal hero to him: “I wear this bracelet: Staff Sergeant Jorge Oliveira. He was one of my specialists in Guantanamo Bay. He deployed later to Afghanistan, where he was killed on 19 October 2011. Killed 10 years after 9-11, 15 years ago. One of the 1%. The best of America, not just a Guardsman, but a law enforcement officer back home and a family man. I remember him every day, just like so many other men and women of our generation and previous generations who wear bracelets like this. Just as we will always remember those lost in this conflict. Their names are now etched into our mission and into the soul of a grateful nation.”
“Yesterday&#8217;s ceremony reminded us why we fight,” he declared. “Not for nation building or democracy promotion, but to crush direct threats to America, Americans, and our interests. We fight to win. And we are winning, on our terms, following our objectives.”
He turned even more personal: “My 13-year-old son popped into my office last night while I was editing these remarks. He asked about the war and the families I met at Dover. And I looked at him and I said, ‘They died for you, son. So that your generation doesn&#8217;t have to deal with a nuclear Iran.’ It&#8217;s the truth. And they did.”
In a stirring peroration, he concluded, “So to the families who said &#8216;Finish this,&#8217; we will. And I say the same to every American who wants peace through strength. May Almighty God continue to bless our troops in this fight. And again, to the American people, please pray for them, every day on bended knee with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ. To the troops: Keep going. And Godspeed.”

US-ISRAEL-IRAN-WAR

‘Finish The Job’: Hegseth Delivers Heart-Wrenching Vow To Fallen Heroes And Their Families

Soldiers

War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that U.S. forces have effectively dismantled Iran&#8217;s naval capabilities, claiming the country&#8217;s surface fleet is &#8220;no longer a factor&#8221; after weeks of sustained strikes. 
“To borrow a page from Admiral Ernest King in World War II, we&#8217;ve decided to share the ocean with Iran,&#8221; Hegseth said during a Pentagon briefing on Operation Epic Fury. &#8220;We&#8217;ve given them the bottom half.&#8221;
According to Hegseth, U.S. forces have damaged or sunk more than 120 Iranian naval vessels, with additional damage assessments still underway. He also said that all 11 of Iran&#8217;s submarines had been destroyed.  
The briefing comes as the Pentagon prepares for what Hegseth described as the “largest strike package yet,” expected to hit targets across Iran on Thursday. 
“To date, we&#8217;ve struck over 7,000 targets across Iran and its military infrastructure. That is not incremental,” Hegseth said. “That is overwhelming force applied with precision, and again, today will be the largest strike package yet, just like yesterday was.”
Hegseth added that Iranian ballistic missile attacks against U.S. forces had dropped by 90% since the operation began on February 28. 
He also pointed to recent strikes targeting senior Iranian officials, including intelligence chief Esmaeil Khatib and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij paramilitary unit under Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“The last job anyone in the world wants right now?&#8221; Hegseth said. &#8220;Senior leader for the IRGC or Basij — temporary.”
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine said U.S. operations are continuing “to attack deeper into Iranian territory” and farther East into Iranian airspace. 
“As reported by U.S. Central Command yesterday, the U.S. military dropped 5,000 pound penetrator weapons into underground storage facilities, storing coastal defense, cruise missiles, and other support equipment,” Caine said. 
When asked how long the operation would continue, Hegseth declined to provide a timeline. 
“We wouldn&#8217;t want to set a definitive time frame on that, but as we&#8217;ve said, we&#8217;re on plan. So we&#8217;re looking at those metrics very closely, relaying that to the president and the national security team,” Hegseth said. 
The briefing came after President Donald Trump issued a warning to Iran after it attacked a natural gas facility in Qatar. 
In a Truth Social post, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116253388303392718">said</a> Israel would halt further strikes on Iran&#8217;s South Pars gas field unless Iran attacks Qatari energy infrastructure. He added that if Iran does escalate, the United States would respond with overwhelming force. 
“NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar — In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before,” Trump said.

Hegseth Says U.S. ‘Sharing The Ocean’ With Iran: ‘We’ve Given Them The Bottom Half’

Operation Epic Fury

In a move that has ignited international outrage and drawn comparisons to the regime’s darkest periods of repression, Iranian authorities on Thursday executed 19-year-old national wrestling champion, Saleh Mohammadi.
Mohammadi was hanged at dawn at Qom Central Prison alongside two other young men, Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi. All three had been detained following their alleged involvement in nationwide protests that swept Iran in late 2025 and early 2026.
The executions were carried out despite high-level international pleas for clemency, including a formal statement from the United States accusing the Islamic Republic of &#8220;massacring youth.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
ایالات متحده از گزارش‌هایی درباره صالح محمدی، قهرمان ۱۹ ساله کشتی، که با اعدام قریب‌الوقوع روبه‌رو است، عمیقاً نگران است. رژیم جمهوری اسلامی ایران، جوانان را قتل‌عام و آینده ایران را ویران می‌کند. 
ما از رژیم ایران می‌خواهیم اجرای حکم اعدام صالح محمدی و تمامی افرادی را که برای… <a href="https://t.co/lL324xWQWZ">pic.twitter.com/lL324xWQWZ</a>
&mdash; USAbehFarsi (@USABehFarsi) <a href="https://twitter.com/USABehFarsi/status/2016775881654481396?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The three men were convicted of moharebeh — or &#8220;waging war against God&#8221; — and the alleged killing of two Law Enforcement Command (Faraja) officers during a protest in Qom on January 8, 2026.
Human rights organizations, including the <a href="https://hengaw.net/en/news/2026/03/article-48">HENGAW Organization for Human Rights</a> and <a href="https://iranhr.net/en/articles/8610/">Iran Human Rights</a>, have denounced the proceedings as &#8220;sham trials.&#8221; According to reports, Mohammadi’s conviction relied almost entirely on confessions allegedly obtained through severe physical and psychological torture. Although the young athlete retracted these statements in court, testifying that they were coerced, the judiciary rejected his claims. Monitors said the court disregarded potentially exculpatory evidence, including witness testimony from family members and CCTV footage that they say failed to place Mohammadi at the scene.
&#8220;The regime has done the exact opposite of what it signaled to the world,&#8221; said famed dissident Masih Alinejad, referring to earlier indications that executions of protest-related detainees might be halted. &#8220;This is not just about sports; this is about human dignity.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today, in Iran, in the middle of a war, the regime executed a 19-year-old national wrestling champion for the crime of joining January protests. 💔
After signaling to the world, including President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>, that they would halt executions of protesters, the regime has… <a href="https://t.co/GzaoiI71JJ">pic.twitter.com/GzaoiI71JJ</a>
&mdash; Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlinejadMasih/status/2034558733804511415?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
His name is Saleh Mohammadi, 19 years old wrestler. He was hanged today in Iran for the crime of protesting in last January and demanding💔 <a href="https://t.co/djUPnSI2zg">pic.twitter.com/djUPnSI2zg</a>
&mdash; Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlinejadMasih/status/2034575091363631346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Mohammadi had been considered a rising star in Iran’s storied wrestling tradition, having recently won a medal at an international freestyle competition in Russia. His execution has drawn comparisons to that of wrestler Navid Afkari, whose 2020 execution prompted widespread global backlash.
Advocacy groups, including Global Athlete, have called for coordinated international action, warning that Iranian athletes and protesters remain at risk.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Iran Human Rights, said the executions appear intended to &#8220;terrorize society&#8221; amid mounting political and military pressures.
Human rights groups warn that hundreds of other detainees accused of taking part in the recent protests could face similar outcomes.

noose hanging from gallows

‘MASSACRING YOUTH’: Iran Hangs 19-Year-Old Wrestling Champion After Protest Arrest

Hanging

Wrestling

The Biden administration, in its last days in office, secretly entered into a sweetheart settlement with an alleged Iranian front group, with the government agreeing to relinquish a $174 million interest in Manhattan real estate that it previously seized for prohibited links to the terror state.
When The Daily Wire revealed that the Manassas Mosque outside of D.C. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mosque-near-pentagon-labels-irans-khamenei-as-its-martyred-leader" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pledged its loyalty</a> to the &#8220;martyred&#8221; Supreme Leader of Iran, numerous officials called for a crackdown on the mosque, which is funded by the Alavi Foundation.
Alavi was originally funded by the shah of Iran prior to the revolution, then taken over by figures linked to the Islamic hardline regime. For years, it used front groups to hide the forbidden relationship, the DOJ said in a 2008 <a href="https://akamai-staging.justice.gov/usao-sdny/programs/victim-witness-services/united-states-v-all-right-title-and-interest-assa-corp-08-civ-10934-rjh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forfeiture action</a> against the Assa Corp., which the DOJ said was an offshore front group used by Alavi.
It emerged this week that the Biden administration agreed to settle a long-running case on favorable terms to the foundation – a decision that could now contribute to increased pro-mullah activity inside America during wartime.
A federal court document <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.337385/gov.uscourts.nysd.337385.2490.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> that the court approved a settlement agreement on January 17, 2025, three days before Biden left office. On March 11, 2026, Judge Loretta A. Preska <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.337385/gov.uscourts.nysd.337385.2491.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreed</a> to &#8220;seal the Order in its entirety,&#8221; &#8220;not only from the public, but also from any litigant that is not a party to the Settlement Agreement.&#8221;
The settlement was first reported by <a href="https://jewishinsider.com/2026/03/alavi-foundation-iran-linked-manhattan-justice-department/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jewish Insider</a>, which located a January 12 filing with the New York State Charity Board that laid out its terms.
It would transfer assets to a new foundation, called the Amir Kabir Foundation, which shares most of the same leaders as Alavi. It would agree to pay victims of Iranian terror who had sued the foundation – but slowly, and mostly out of proceeds that come from the government agreeing to give back a portion of the building that was seized for its links to Iran.
The terms &#8220;provide for the payment or release of a total of $318 million to the United States government and the Judgment Creditors,&#8221; but &#8220;a majority of the Payment will be in exchange for the 40% partnership interest in the Fifth Avenue Company previously held by Petitioner&#8217;s former partner, Assa, an entity determined to be indirectly owned by Bank Melli, an Iranian bank. The Assa Interest is now held by the United States government,&#8221; the charity document said.
The Alavi Foundation owns $300 million in real estate, including properties around the nation&#8217;s capital and the remaining 60% interest in the Fifth Avenue skyscraper. The 40% interest that had previously been seized is worth $174 million.
That means instead of paying what it owes, it is seemingly largely meeting its obligations thanks to a gift from the U.S. government. To fund the settlement, the foundation will be able to use rental income from Assa&#8217;s share of the building &#8220;that has accumulated over the course of nearly sixteen years of litigation and which is held in a bank account controlled by the U.S. Marshals Service,&#8221; the filing said.
It said the terms of the agreement were agreed to by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who would monitor the new foundation for five years.
Lara Burns, a former FBI agent and head of terrorism research at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, told Jewish Insider that “Allowing Alavi to obfuscate their identity and basically start with a clean slate creates risks related to a continued foreign influence campaign on behalf of a regime that has called for the death of U.S. leaders and who has blatantly stated its intent to cause America harm through a variety of nefarious activities.”
Alavi&#8217;s attorney, Daniel Ruzumna, told the publication that Alavi&#8217;s board had turned over completely since litigation began, and that leaders of the new entity, the Amir Kabir Foundation, had been interviewed by the Biden administration&#8217;s Department of Justice, which did not object. “AKF and its board members have no relationship to the Government of Iran,&#8221; he said.
In 2017, a New York jury &#8220;found the 36-story office building at 650 Fifth Avenue (the &#8216;Building&#8217;), worth at least $500 million, and other real property and bank accounts <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/acting-manhattan-us-attorney-announces-historic-jury-verdict-finding-forfeiture-midtown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forfeitable</a> to the United States as proceeds of violations of the Iran sanctions and property involved in laundering the proceeds,&#8221; the Department of Justice said at the time, in what was the &#8220;largest terrorism-related civil forfeiture in United States history.&#8221;
&#8220;Hiding in plain sight, this 36-story Manhattan office tower secretly served as a front for the Iranian government and as a gateway for millions of dollars to be funneled to Iran in clear violation of U.S. sanctions laws,&#8221; it said.
It said Alavi, the 60% owner, knew that its minority partner was an Iranian front group. The government planned to sell the building and send the proceeds to victims of Iranian terror. But in 2019, the jury verdict was overturned on appeal.
In 2009, the then-head of the Alavi Foundation, Farshid Jahedi, was indicted for “allegedly destroying documents subpoenaed by a grand jury investigating the Alavi Foundation’s relationship with Bank Melli Iran and the ownership of a Manhattan office building,” the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nys/pressreleases/May09/Jahedi,%20Farshid%20Indictment%20PR.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
But President Barack Obama gave lenient treatment: In 2010, Jahedi pleaded guilty and was sentenced to <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-slap-hand-of-alavis-ex-boss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">only</a> three months in prison and a $3,000 fine on two felony counts.
The Alavi Foundation funded the Manassas Mosque 30 miles outside of D.C., which held an event &#8220;Honoring Our Leader Shaheed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei&#8221; after the ayatollah was killed during Operation Epic Fury.
In 2023, nine GOP congressmen <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/gop-reps-raise-alarm-bells-irans-influence-american-religious-institutions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> to the Biden administration’s attorney general and director of national intelligence, saying that the Manassas mosque received $200,000 from the Alavi Foundation and “a recent video inside the Mosque showed it is adorned with pictures of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps … This appears to be part of a network of regime-sponsored mosques acting as agents for a foreign adversary.”
The Manassas Mosque’s imam is Abolfazl Bahram Nahidian, who in 2010 said that Israel was behind 9/11, and who is currently in Iran. His daughter-in-law has been behind much of the anti-Israel activism in D.C., and <a href="https://x.com/lukerosiak/status/2029266278150471909/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> to Instagram a photo that said &#8220;Soon we will avenge (your death) from the Zionists and the Americans&#8230; They&#8217;ve dug their own graves.&#8221;
In response to The Daily Wire&#8217;s reporting, Rep. Keith Self (R-TX), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said “The enemy is inside the gates.”
“We need to get them the hell out of our country,” Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) said.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mosque-near-pentagon-labels-irans-khamenei-as-its-martyred-leader?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Mosque+Near+Pentagon+Labels+Iran’s+Khamenei+As+Its+‘Martyred+Leader’">Mosque Near Pentagon Labels Iran’s Khamenei As Its ‘Martyred Leader’</a>

Manassas mosque

Biden Made Secret Sweetheart Deal With Iran Group Backing Anti-American Mosque

Joe Biden

The war with Iran is putting the Abraham Accords to the test, but experts say the conflict could ultimately pave the way for new normalization agreements.
The U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states faced strain during Israel’s recent war with Hamas, triggering widespread anger across the Arab world and putting governments such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco under pressure to distance themselves from Israel.
But Iran’s expanding campaign of missile and drone attacks on its neighbors has shifted the strategic picture, potentially pushing several Arab states closer to the United States and Israel, experts say.
Existing Abraham Accords members are already seeing the practical benefits of that cooperation as they work to defend themselves from Iranian attacks on both civilian and military sites within their countries.
Nir Boms, the director of the Tel Aviv University Workshop on Israel and the Middle East, said the conflict has effectively become a real-world stress test for the Abraham Accords.
“The Iranian strategy was to cause damage — economic damage, damage to even civilian infrastructure — in order to increase the pressure by the regional countries to work against Israel and work against the United States,” Boms said.
Instead, he said, the war has highlighted the benefits of regional cooperation.
“We’ve actually had more channels where Israel could be of assistance when it comes to civilian defense, when it comes to some of the systems that the Gulf countries now have to adopt very quickly,” he said.
Israeli defense technology, including the Barak missile system, is being used by the United Arab Emirates as part of its air defense network. Israeli experts have also reportedly advised regional partners on strengthening civilian warning systems and defenses.
Defense sales have also increased between Israel and Abraham Accords partners. Israel’s defense exports reached a record $14.8 billion in 2024, with countries that signed the accords accounting for about 12% of those exports — up from just 3% in 2023, according to <a href="https://www.inss.org.il/publication/abraham-accords-5-years/">a report</a> from the Institute for National Security Studies. Sales to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were among the fastest-growing.
Rawan Osman, a research and diplomacy fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said the war is clarifying a strategic reality that many governments in the region already understood privately.
“Paradoxically, the war with Iran is likely strengthening Israel’s ties with the countries that signed the Abraham Accords,” Osman said. “Moments of crisis often clarify political realities.”
Iran’s decision to fire missiles not only at Israel but also at Gulf states such as the UAE is making it “difficult to maintain the old narrative that Israel is the primary enemy,” Osman said.
At the same time, Osman said Iran views the Abraham Accords themselves as a direct challenge to its regional ambitions.
“By attacking neighbors that have aligned themselves with Israel, Iran is trying to send a message: cooperation with Israel carries a cost.”
But Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, said the strategy could ultimately backfire.
“Iran has aimed for years to encircle Israel in a ring of fire,” Brodsky said. “But with its missile and drone strikes against Gulf countries and other neighbors, it’s actually risking encircling itself in a ring of fire.”
Brodsky added that the attacks could do long-term damage to Tehran’s relationships across the region and create new opportunities for Israel and the United States to deepen cooperation with regional partners. 
“To externalize the costs economically, politically, and militarily, Iran sought to expand the geography of the conflict to deter the U.S.,” Brodsky said, and instead made its missile program “the center of international attention.”
Asher Fredman, executive director of the Misgav Institute for National Security and a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, who specializes in Abraham ties, said cooperation has continued even during periods of conflict.
“If you look at the numbers, trade between Israel and Morocco, the UAE, Bahrain — even Egypt and Jordan — is up across the board,” Fredman said.
Since the Abraham Accords were signed in 2020, trade between Israel and its Abraham Accords partners has continued to rise despite the war with Hamas and pressure from anti-Israel voices. In January 2026, trade with Bahrain reached $3.6 million, up from virtually zero a year earlier; trade with Morocco totaled $21.8 million, a 7% increase; and trade with the United Arab Emirates reached $301.9 million, up 22% from January 2025, according to data compiled by the Heritage Foundation.
Relations between the UAE and Israel have been the quickest to grow. Over one million Israelis have <a href="https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-830541">visited</a> the United Arab Emirates, more than <a href="https://chabad.ae/kosher/">nine</a> kosher restaurants have opened, and bilateral trade reached $3 billion in 2024, <a href="https://www.inss.org.il/publication/abraham-accords-5-years/">according to</a> Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics.
According to Fredman, Iran’s attempts to disrupt global shipping by threatening traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could end up strengthening economic cooperation between Israel and its regional partners.
Fredman said instability has renewed interest in the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a proposed overland trade route connecting India to Europe through Gulf states, Jordan, and Israel.
“There’s growing interest in the IMEC overland trade route because the Strait of Hormuz is once again being disrupted,” Fredman said. “As maritime insurance goes up and uncertainty grows, the economic case for this overland route grows as well.”
The rising regional security threat is also contributing to a growing sense of shared interests among Israel and its Arab partners.
“There is a growing sense of, ‘we’re in this together,’” Fredman said.
<div id="attachment_1060379" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1060379" class="size-large wp-image-1060379" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-16-at-12.38.19-PM-1024x570.png" alt="" width="1024" height="570" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-16-at-12.38.19-PM-1024x570.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-16-at-12.38.19-PM-300x167.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-16-at-12.38.19-PM-768x427.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-16-at-12.38.19-PM-1536x855.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-16-at-12.38.19-PM.png 1934w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />(Heritage Foundation)</div>
The economic momentum has also reached Israel’s neighboring countries, which did not sign the Abraham Accords. Trade with Egypt totaled $51.8 million in January 2026, while trade with Jordan reached $55.7 million. In December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/historic-moment-netanyahu-announces-record-natural-gas-deal-with-egypt/">announced</a> that Israel had signed a $34.7 billion natural gas deal with Egypt, the largest energy agreement in the country’s history.
Some analysts believe the war could eventually expand the accords if Iran emerges weakened.
Elie Pieprz, director of international relations at the Israel Defense and Security Forum, said the conflict is demonstrating the strategic value of Israel’s growing regional alliances.
“This war is demonstrating the effectiveness of the alliance,” Pieprz said. “Israel is emerging as the regional superpower that no one wants to mess with.”
If countries like the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain continue to benefit from their cooperation with Israel, Pieprz said, other governments may become more willing to pursue normalization agreements.
Saudi Arabia remains the most significant potential addition to the accords, though political disputes have continued to delay diplomatic talks. 
The war is also reshaping political conversations inside countries that have historically opposed normalization. Osman noted that even in Lebanon — where Hezbollah has long dominated the political landscape — recent public discussions about normalization with Israel have begun to emerge.
“The conflict is exposing the real source of instability in the region,” Osman said. “For many Sunni states, Iran’s revolutionary project and its network of militias pose the far greater long-term danger.”
Ultimately, experts say the future of the Abraham Accords will depend on how the war with Iran ends.
If Tehran’s regional influence weakens or the Islamic regime is overthrown, the conflict could accelerate a broader realignment in the Middle East, bringing more countries into cooperation with Israel.

US-ISRAEL-UAE-DIPLOMACY-POLITICS

Iran Tried To Drive Wedge Between Israel, Muslim World — It May Be Doing The Exact Opposite

Abraham Accords

Bahrain

Israel

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

MAGA is breaking. Trump is losing. The sky is falling.
Our craven mainstream media are frothing at the mouth at the notion that MAGA could be fracturing. All of their juiciest, most lurid fantasies are coming true.
But as it turns out, MAGA is doing just fine — we&#8217;re just shedding some excess baggage here.
A brand new <a href="https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/54342-americans-suddenly-more-likely-to-see-economy-getting-worse-march-13-16-2026-economist-yougov-poll">Economist/YouGov poll</a>, taken March 13-16, asked what President Trump&#8217;s approval rating was on the American attack on Iran. Among MAGA: Voters, 87% supported; 6% disapproved. How about sending ground troops to Iran if necessary? 35% of MAGA said sure; 36% said no: a dead even split. How about on whether to end the war quickly or to stay until the objectives are achieved in Iran? Only 30% of MAGA supporters said that we should end the war as quickly as possible. 58% said that we should keep fighting until all American objectives have been achieved.
No, President Trump is not losing MAGA.
And yet, according to those who have had their brains rotted out by X along with our usual duds in the mainstream media, the base is totally fractured. And they know this because they have found some new heroes, heretic MAGA, who are targeting the administration for destruction. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2390-sub"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
And this brings us to Joe Kent.
Joe Kent is a former failed congressional candidate from Washington state who was elevated to the position of director of the National Center for Counter Terrorism — which you really had never heard of — by President Trump. Kent, a former Green Beret who served in the CIA, was serving under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
Kent has a long political history. In 2020, he voted for Bernie Sanders. But then, in 2022, while running for Congress, Kent ran into a bit of trouble because of his associations with white supremacists. According to Nick Fuentes, Kent sought his support, but then was forced to disavow him when that support became public.
Kent has been, for a very long time, conspiratorially minded in the extreme. He suggested that the Secret Service might have been in on the assassination attempt on President Trump in July 2024, among other bizarre theories. He&#8217;s also been strangely supportive of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin&#8217;s aggression against Ukraine.
Before that, though, Kent had some bizarrely heterodox views. In 2020, after President Trump knocked off Iranian terror master Qasem Soleimani, Kent <a href="https://x.com/joekent16jan19/status/1214778671564611584">explained</a>, “We remain in striking distance by choice for no clear benefit. We should crush their ballistic and nuclear capes and get out of Iraq with sanctions to follow.”
Interesting, because that&#8217;s kind of what President Trump has been doing.
Way back when Kent was actually nominated to serve in the federal government, MSNBC was highly critical, <a href="https://www.ms.now/transcript/transcript-rachel-maddow-show-8-9-22-n1298426">saying</a>, “That man you heard speaking is a Trump-endorsed Republican who believes the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, and he hired a member of the Proud Boys as a campaign consultant. He once told a white nationalist youth group, ‘I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s anything wrong with there being a white people special interest group.’”
Then yesterday, Kent released a bizarre and paranoid letter announcing his resignation from the National Center for Counter-Terrorism. In the letter, Kent <a href="https://x.com/joekent16jan19">announced</a> that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
You know who he&#8217;s talking about, don&#8217;t you? You know, (nudge, nudge.)
He then stated that Trump had been duped by “high ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media who deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.”
And then, just in case he wasn&#8217;t done blaming the Israelis, he blamed the Iraq war on the Israelis, too. And even then he wasn&#8217;t done, <a href="https://x.com/MelanieLatest/status/2033916987324137737">declaring</a> that his wife, who was killed by ISIS in Syria in 2019, was murdered “in a war manufactured by Israel.”
So to get this straight, according to Joe Kent, who was a Trump appointee in charge of the National Center for Counter Terrorism, President Trump is a dupe of the Israelis and unspecified media members, who knows? The Iraq war was the fault of the Israelis, even though it was opposed at the time by the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon. And also the Israelis are at fault for his wife being murdered by ISIS in Syria somehow.
This is, to put it mildly, nutty.
President Trump himself dismissed the notion he&#8217;s been manipulated by the nefarious “Juden” <a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/president-trump-meets-with-taoiseach-of-ireland/675656">yesterday</a>, saying, “I was against Iran long before I ever thought about Israel being against Iran. I was, if you look back many years ago, I talked about Iran was a big threat to this country, to this world of ours.”
Kent’s take is unsurprising, to be honest. His wife works for far-left propagandist Max Blumenthal, who&#8217;s worked for a wide variety of foreign propaganda outlets.
All of this calls into question why Kent was selected for his job in the first place. Obviously, Kent and his Ron Paul-esque foreign policy preferences have some allies in the administration. According to Fox News, Kent was “a known leaker,” and he was cut out of the president&#8217;s intelligence briefings months ago.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said <a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/karoline-leavitt-speaks-to-reporters-about-war-in-iran/675767">this morning</a>:
<blockquote>It&#8217;s been a while since the president has seen him here at the White House. It&#8217;s been a while since he&#8217;s been involved in the process of the presidential daily briefs and he&#8217;s been actually present for the president&#8217;s intelligence briefings. This was an individual who was not involved in any of the discussions pre-operation and throughout this operation, I think the president views it as deeply unfortunate that this individual, who the president gave the privilege of working for the administration, put out this resignation on government letterhead with many falsehoods throughout, essentially accusing the president of being manipulated by foreign governments. That&#8217;s laughable, and it&#8217;s insulting.</blockquote>
Kent’s resignation letter basically calls Trump a dullard working at the behest of the Zionists. That was enough to earn Kent the royal treatment from our usual friends. He is slated to appear on all the leaders of the anti-Trump Grievance Party podcasts: Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and all the rest. MSNOW has discovered newfound love for Joe Kent with some strange new respect. CNN is suddenly incredibly happy with Joe Kent, a guy that CNN hated until five seconds ago.
President Trump responded to Joe Kent&#8217;s resignation with a proper level of dismissiveness, saying <a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/president-trump-meets-with-taoiseach-of-ireland/675656">yesterday</a>, “I read his statement. I always thought he&#8217;s a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security. I didn&#8217;t know him well, but I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy. But when I read the statement, I realized that it&#8217;s a good thing that he&#8217;s out because he said that Iran was not a threat? Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it.”
And then, for good measure, the president decided to dunk on Kent, showing his rather inconsistent feelings about the Middle East. He reposted a 2020 tweet from Kent that stated, “We should not sit and wait for the next attack, wipe Iran&#8217;s ballistic capability out and get our troops out of Iraq — they are only targets now. No US WIA/KIA is a tribute to the professionalism of our military and Intel professionals not Iranian restraint.”
So back in 2020 Kent was hawkish on Iran.
Leavitt released <a href="https://x.com/PressSec/status/2033932810709315865">a statement</a> detailing all the false allegations in Kent&#8217;s resignation letter.
She stated:
<blockquote>There are many false claims in this letter but let me address one specifically: that &#8220;Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.&#8221; This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over. As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first. This evidence was compiled from many sources and factors. President Trump would never make the decision to deploy military assets against a foreign adversary in a vacuum. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.
The Iranian regime is evil. It proudly killed Americans, waged war against our country, and openly threatened us all the way up to the launch of Operation Epic Fury. Iran was aggressively expanding their short-range ballistic missiles to combine with their naval assets to give themselves immunity – meaning they would have a degree of capabilities that would give them immunity to hold us and the rest of the world hostage.</blockquote>
The best comment came from Senator John Fetterman, who remains hilariously awesome. He told the Huffington Post, “I don’t really care. I know your readership loves that, and the New York Times love it. And then he&#8217;s going to be the national hero, you know, just like you made, MTG. That that was your mascot for a while. But now her crazy ass is now all about Tucker Carlson. … so, I don&#8217;t really care what he&#8217;s chosen to do, and I wish the best for him in his next life.”
Make no mistake: Trump is still very much in control of MAGA.
And when he wins the war, that control will solidify even further, as it should.

US-POLITICS-SHOOTING-KIRK

Media Hopes MAGA Is Fracturing. Not Even Close.

Ben Shapiro

Federal Government

MAGA

Middle East

Republicans

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said during a Wednesday hearing that the United States had moved on the Iranian regime in part because of the &#8220;alarming&#8221; rate at which Iran was building and stockpiling weapons that could have eventually been fired at Americans or American allies.
Ratcliffe took questions from members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on the reasons President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration had viewed Iran as an imminent threat, saying the regime had been pressing onward with missile development at a rate that American defenses would not have been able to match.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: According to CIA Director Ratcliffe, Iran was developing missiles “at rates that were alarming” and faster than the United States could build defenses. <a href="https://t.co/AXrGBsgtfM">pic.twitter.com/AXrGBsgtfM</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/2034300261104033882?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
When asked by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) whether Iran was continuing production of both short and midrange ballistic missiles, Ratcliffe&#8217;s answer was a definitive yes.
&#8220;Yes &#8230; continuing to develop them, and at rates that were alarming,&#8221; Ratcliffe confirmed.
&#8220;And what about our ability to respond to those? We have very good defensive capabilities, but it takes time for us to build our defensive capabilities,&#8221; Rounds continued. &#8220;Were they building their offensive capabilities while they were negotiating with us at a faster rate than we could build defensive capabilities?&#8221;
&#8220;Yes,&#8221; Ratcliffe declared.
&#8220;Were they continuing to work at and deliver additional resources to terrorist organizations that were affiliated with them in the region?&#8221; Rounds pressed onward.
&#8220;Yes,&#8221; was Ratcliffe&#8217;s reply.
Rounds noted once again that all of this was taking place while Iran was supposedly negotiating with the United States.
&#8220;So in other words, while they were supposedly diplomatically working with us during that entire time, they were continuing with regard to their nuclear intentions, they were building additional missile systems to deliver — or conventional weapons systems — to threaten their neighbors,&#8221; Rounds pieced it all together, saying that the end result could have been far more dangerous when eventually the United States would have been forced to go in and &#8220;clean&#8221; things up.
Rounds further stated that he agreed with the Trump administration&#8217;s assessment that, if such a thing were possible, it would be &#8220;safer&#8221; for the United States to deal with the threat posed by Iran before such capabilities could be fully realized.
&#8220;I agree with that,&#8221; Ratcliffe said.

Missiles, drones, satellite-carrying rockets and air defence systems on display in Iran

CIA Director Lifts Lid On What Iran Was Quietly Building At Blistering Pace

CIA Director: Iran Was Making Weapons At An 'Alarming' Rate, U.S. Defenses Couldn't Keep Up

John Ratcliffe

Senate Intelligence Committee

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