Is the regime in Iran soon to be toast?

Keir Starmer allows UK military to board Russia’s shadow fleet vessels
The Hill ^ | March 25, 2026 | Tara Suter and Jonathan Carter

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will now allow his country’s military to board Russian “shadow fleet” ships, according to a Wednesday press release from his office.

Starmer said the interdiction of the Russian shadow ships, part of a network of tankers with obscure ownership or insurance to evade sanctions, follows the Royal Navy’s increased support of allies by monitoring and tracking such ships.

“The British military will be able to board shadow fleet vessels transiting UK waters as the UK steps up its pressure on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. The Prime Minister has agreed that the UK Armed Forces and law enforcement officers will now be able to interdict vessels that have been sanctioned by the UK and are transiting through UK waters,” a press release shared with The Hill says.

According to the Atlantic Council, the shadow tankers have allowed Russia to fund the war in Ukraine.

“Putin is rubbing his hands at the war in the Middle East because he thinks higher oil prices will let him line his pockets,” Starmer in the release.

“That’s why we’re going after his shadow fleet even harder, not just keeping Britain safe but starving Putin’s war machine of the dirty profits that fund his barbaric campaign in Ukraine,” he added.

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
 
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bigredfish said:
Maybe a fire in the laundry room …

Click to expand...

There's a theory that the laundry fire may have been sabotage by a sailor wanting to go home. Plausible, maybe...or a goat may have delivered a missile. :idk: It's not the first time someone set fire in a USS. See the USS Miami.
 
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Iran targets US public opinion with online information war
France24 ^ | March 25, 2026 | By: Joanna YORK

The Iranian regime has been running an online influence campaign using AI-generated photographs, videos and memes to sow confusion about the war in the Middle East. Experts say the main goal is to ramp up anti-war sentiment in the US and pressure President Trump to end the conflict.

“The propaganda includes memes and cartoons that aren't meant to be perceived as real but are very good at spreading political messaging,” said Darren Linvill, author of the study and co-director of Clemson’s Media Forensics Hub.

“The deepfakes portray a version of reality that [seems] genuine and often paint Iran as more successful in the conflict. Both are being shared widely among communities that are critical of the war and hungry for this messaging.”

As the conflict has spiralled over the past month, Iran has relied on both state media outlets and proxies to push its online message as a form of asymmetrical warfare with a view to targeting a US audience.

(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
 
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finally Gemini is ok with this ..


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The War Is Going Better Than You Think
New York Times ^ | 3/24/26 | Bret Stephens

Most Americans probably don’t look back at March 2012 — if they remember it at all — and think of terrifyingly high gas prices. In the month when “The Hunger Games” ruled the box office and President Barack Obama was on his way to a comfortable re-election, the price of Brent crude closed the month around $123 a barrel. That would be about $175 a barrel in today’s dollars.

As of Tuesday, despite Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks on its neighbors’ energy facilities, it’s hovering around $100, slightly higher than the average inflation-adjusted price since January 2001, roughly $95.

That ought to provide some perspective on the panic over the war in the Middle East. To hear the critics’ version of events, an unprovoked and unnecessary attack on Iran, launched at Israel’s behest, is already a foreign-policy fiasco that has put the global economy at risk without any clear objective or endgame. As Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, told NBC’s Kristen Welker over the weekend, “We’ve never seen this level of incompetence in war-making in this country’s history.”

Really? Let’s take a tour of some of the recent history.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
 
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30-40% damaged or destroyed ..

France confirms oil crisis, says 30-40% Gulf energy infrastructure destroyed • FRANCE 24 English
FRANCE 24 English

 
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