FBI warned of possible drone attack in California; strike on girls' school may have used outdated intel.
Also, Iran is attacking foreign tankers in the Strait of Hormuz while oil surpasses $100 a barrel once again.
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The latest news at this hour:
FBI WARNED OF POSSIBLE ATTACK ON U.S.: The FBI alerted law enforcement last month that Iran could retaliate for U.S. strikes with a surprise drone attack from UAVs launched from sea vessels on targets in California. Nearly half of Iranian Americans in the U.S. live in California, according to Pew Research.
The alert was issued before the first U.S.-Israeli strikes kicked off the war, but on Wednesday U.S. officials said there is no imminent threat.
SCHOOL STRIKE MAY HAVE USED OUTDATED INTEL: The preliminary findings of an ongoing military investigation show the U.S. responsible for the deadly Tomahawk strike on a girls’ school in Minab, a city in southern Iran. But an even more troubling detail has emerged: the U.S. military may have relied on outdated intelligence for the strike. The school sat on a compound that had served as an IRGC base roughly 15 years prior, according to NBC.
IRAN ATTACKS FOREIGN TANKERS: An Iranian attack near the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr targeted two foreign oil tankers, separately sailing under Thai and Japanese flags. The attack, which was caused by Iranian boats carrying explosives, killed one, and 38 crew members were rescued, CNN reports. According to UK Maritime Trade Operations, another vessel has reportedly been hit about 50 nautical miles from Dubai.
Attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz have turned this oil-supplying hub into a battlefield of its own, as Iran continues to place explosive mines along the strait. Three crew members are thought to be trapped on a Thai carrier that was hit on Wednesday while trying to travel through the strait.
… WHILE OIL PASSES $100 A BARREL, AGAIN: Crude prices surged past $100 a barrel for the second time during the Iran war, following a few days ago when it neared $120. The International Energy Agency is weighing a release of 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves — the biggest in its history — equal to about four days of global supply, according to the BBC.
This is the first time oil has crossed the $100 threshold since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
IRAN HACKS ITS FIRST U.S. COMPANY OF THE WAR: A cyberattack on Stryker, a medical tech company based in Michigan, has been claimed by an Iran-linked hacker group.
Iran has previously carried out major cyberattacks on foreign targets, including a destructive 2012 attack on Saudi Aramco and a 2014 hack on the Sands casino, but this seems to be the first major hacking of an American company since the start of this war on February 28.
SUPPORT FOR IRAN WAR LOWER THAN PAST CONFLICTS: Early polling shows Americans are far less supportive of strikes on Iran than at the start of previous wars — figures tend to be between 27 and 50 percent approval. Even at its top end, this is significantly lower than initial support for the Iraq War and the Persian Gulf War.
ISRAEL STRIKES HEART OF BEIRUT: The Israeli military conducted heavy strikes in and around Beirut on Wednesday night into the morning of March 12. A strike in central Beirut killed seven and injured 21, according to the health ministry.
This intense bombardment, for many days now, is squeezing Lebanon into a humanitarian crisis — at least 750,000 people are displaced, 570 are killed and 1,400 injured, according to NBC.
The New York Times has reported that Israel was bombing Dahiya, a densely populated residential area right outside the city, which is believed to be important to Hezbollah.
Editor’s note:
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Stay safe out there!
Best,
Jacqueline
Thank you for the update.