The military operation against Iran entered its fourteenth day on Friday. All six crewmen from an American air refuelling tanker that crashed in Iraq while on Operation Epic Fury duties have died, CENTCOM said. America is considerably uplifting its posture in the Middle East with the announcement of the deployment of the Tripoli Expeditionary Strike Group. Based around amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, the deployment means the arrival of several warships and around 5,000 U.S. Marines in theatre in a couple of weeks time, once they have steamed from the Pacific, reports The Wall Street Journal. Iran has struck out at a number of the Middle East’s megacities in the past two weeks, and has done so again today, with drones launched against Dubai in the UAE. The strikes appear to be part of a deliberate policy of attacking the economy of the Middle East, with Tehran saying it would be targeting economic institutions and banks linked to the West. Perhaps understandably, we haven’t seen much of what remains of the top level of Iran’s government in the past two weeks. We haven’t even seen the new Supreme Leader at all since he was appointed, leading to some to call him mockingly the Cardboard Khamani. But there was a rally in Tehran this morning and a handful of regime figures put in an appearance. The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in January, falling by more than half from a year earlier in a report that offered the clearest sign yet of how dramatically America’s trade position has shifted during President Donald Trump’s first year back in office. The Commerce Department said Thursday that the goods and services deficit fell to $54.5 billion in January, down from $128.4 billion in the same month a year ago. That marked a decline of $73.9 billion, or 57.6 percent. https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2026/03/12/trade-deficit-january-2026/ Cuban dictator Díaz-Canel announces on national broadcast that the regime has begun negotiations with the United States. The economy in Cuba is in shambles and Cubans have had enough. They too see this as their time. https://joehoft.com/now-cuba-cuban-dictator-diaz-canel-begins-negotiations/ Glenn begins by pointing to the Senate’s expected vote on the SAVE Act, a proposal that would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. “This is a complete sham,” he says. “Now, this is just a bill that says you have to prove you’re a citizen to vote in American elections. Think about that for just a second. Just this basic idea. If you’re voting in the United States, you should be an American citizen.” “Originally, if you wanted to block a bill, all you had to do is stand on the floor and talk hour after hour, day after day. ... But today, you don’t have to do that anymore, because it’s hard. You just threaten a filibuster and then walk away. And you need a 60-person vote to bring it back to the floor,” Glenn says. “They could keep the Senate in continuous session for day after day after day, and if Democrats want to block voter citizenship requirements, then let them stand there for 24 hours a day explaining why. Make them hold the floor. Make them say it out loud,” Glenn says. He then points out that the election debate is happening while larger global developments unfold. “See, that’s the disconnect here,” he says. “The world is playing geopolitical chess for the whole game, and Washington is arguing whether the players are even allowed to sit at the board.” “The institutions that are supposed to protect trust, elections, law enforcement, government spending, the media are all under strain at the same time. They’re not broken beyond repair, but they are deeply strained,” he says. Restoring confidence, he argues, will require "principles, transparency, and courage." Iran has targeted countries across the region and said it would choke off the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery for the world’s oil supply. In response, US President Donald Trump claimed that “many countries” would send warships to the strait to defend shipping. In a post on Truth Social, Trump then said that “hopefully” China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would send vessels. It was unclear whether other nations were already confirmed to be sending ships beyond those. Meanwhile, he warned, the US “will be bombing the h*** out of the shoreline” and “one way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait open, safe and free.” Later on Saturday Trump said that “countries of the world that receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — a lot! The US will also coordinate with those countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well.
**Livewire** Operation Epic Fury Day Fourteen: U.S. Fatalities Confirmed From Loss of Air Tanker
U.S. Trade Deficit Falls Sharply, Down 57.6 Percent From a Year Earlier:
NOW CUBA! Cuban Dictator Díaz-Canel Begins Negotiations with the United States:
Trump vows to open Strait of Hormuz ‘one way or the other’ as Iran threatens area’s ports: