Roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers are still intact and thousands of one-way attack drones remain in Iran’s arsenal despite the daily pounding by US and Israeli strikes against military targets over the past five weeks, according to recent US intelligence assessments, three sources familiar with the intel told CNN.
“They are still very much poised to wreak absolute havoc throughout the entire region,” one of the sources said of Iran.
The US intelligence assessment total may include launchers that are currently inaccessible, such as those buried underground by strikes but not destroyed.
Thousands of Iranian drones still exist — roughly 50% of the country’s drone capabilities — two of the sources said the intelligence indicated. The intelligence, compiled in recent days, also showed a large percentage of Iran’s coastal defense cruise missiles were intact, the sources said, consistent with the US not focusing its air campaign on coastal military assets though they have been hitting ships. Those missiles serve as a key capability allowing Iran to threaten shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The intelligence offers a more nuanced picture of Iran’s continuing capabilities compared to sweeping assessments of military victory offered publicly by President Donald Trump and administration officials.
Roughly Half Of Iran's Missile Launching And Drone Capabilities Are Still Intact: CNN
Thousands more US troops headed to Middle East aboard aircraft carrier
The U.S. is sending thousands of additional U.S. service members to the Middle East aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, even as President Trump on Wednesday claimed Iran has asked the U.S. for a ceasefire.
The George H.W. Bush deployed Tuesday en route to the Middle East along with three destroyers, a carrier strike group that consists of more than 6,000 sailors, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press.
The new deployment follows the Trump administration’s decision to send 2,500 Marines and 2,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the region last week. Officihttps://thehill.com/policy/defense/5810825-us-sends-troops-middle-east/?tbref=hpals have not disclosed what those troops would be doing.
The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command, the military command that oversees troops in the Middle East, did not immediately respond to questions on the deployments from The Hill.
Hegseth ousts Army chief of staff
The Army did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
The Pentagon confirmed George’s retirement, who served as the Army’s 41st chief of staff.
“The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement,” Pentagon chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, said in a statement.
The Army’s current vice chief of staff is Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who was previously Hegseth’s military aide, will serve as the acting chief of staff, a Pentagon official told The Hill.
“General LaNeve — a generational leader — will help ensure the Army revives the warrior ethos, rebuilds for the modern battlefield and deters our enemies around the world,” Hegseth said of LaNeve in January.
With Pam Bondi fired, a showdown to replace her looms in Congress
Pam Bondi is out at the Justice Department. And all roads to replace her lead through one place: the U.S. Senate.
The impending political brawl on Capitol Hill to supplant the embattled attorney general, fired by President Donald Trump on April 2, as the nation's chief law enforcement officer is already getting underway.
For a litany of reasons, it won't be easy or quiet, regardlesBondi's replacement will have to answer for much bigger changes at the traditionally apolitical Justice Department, which for the first time in recent history has actively pursued investigations into the president's political enemies under Bondi's leadership.
In extraordinary legal moves, Democratic senators, the former FBI director and the New York state attorney general have all been targeted. The controversial pattern has drawn the ire even of some GOP senators whom the White House will need on board with another DOJ chief.
Palestinians in West Bank strike after Israel passes death penalty law
Palestinians across the occupied West Bank observed a general strike on Wednesday in protest against a new Israeli law allowing the execution of prisoners, as international condemnation mounted.
Fatah, the movement led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, called for the strike, describing the legislation as a “dangerous escalation” against Palestinians.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/general-strike-leaves-west-bank-streets-empty-over-death-penalty-bill
“This criminal law will not break the will of our people or the determination of our prisoners, but will instead strengthen our resolve to continue the struggle for their freedom and legitimate rights,” it said in a statement.
The Knesset approved the bill in its final readings on Monday by 62 votes to 48, despite international calls to abandon it.
The legislation has drawn widespread criticism for violating the right to life and for its potentially discriminatory application.
‘On a whole other level’: rapid snow melt-off in American west stuns scientists
Snow surveys taking place across the American west this week are offering a grim prognosis, after a historically warm winter and searing March temperatures left the critical snowpack at record-low levels across the region.
Experts warned that even as the heat begins to subside, the stunning pace of melt-off over the past month has left key basins in uncharted territory for the dry seasons ahead. Though there’s still potential for more snow in the forecast, experts said it will probably be too little too late.
“This year is on a whole other level,” said Dr Russ Schumacher, a Colorado State University climatologist, speaking about the intense heat that began rapidly melting the already sparse snowpack in March. “Seeing this year so far below any of the other years we have data for is very concerning.”
Acting as a water savings account of sorts, snowpacks are essential to water supply. Measurements taken across the west during the week of 1 April are viewed as important indicators of the peak amounts of water that might melt into reservoirs, rivers and streams and across thirsty landscapes through the summer.
Magnitude 7.4 earthquake strikes in Indonesia, sparking tsunami alert
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake has struck the Northern Molucca Sea region in Indonesia, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The quake, which hit early on Thursday local time, had depth of 35km and its epicentre was 127km (79 miles) west-northwest of Ternate, Indonesia, the USGS said.
The US tsunami warning system said tsunami waves were possible with 1,000km of the epicentre, along the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. It warned that tsunami waves reaching 0.3 metres to 1 metre (3.2ft) above the tide level were possible for some of the Indonesian coastline.
In further advice, the US tsunami warning system forecast waves of less than 30cm above tide level for the coasts of Guam, Japan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Taiwan.
Death of Rohingya refugee left in parking lot by US border agents ruled a homicide
Authorities have ruled that the death of Nurul Amin Shah, a 56-year-old Rohingya refugee from Myanmar who was left by immigration agents at a restaurant in Buffalo, was a homicide.
Shah, who was visually impaired, died on 24 February, five days after US Border Patrol agents dropped him off in the parking lot of a Tim Hortons on a cold winter night without notifying his family or attorney.
In a statement, the Erie county medical examiner’s office said the cause of death was “complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration”, and ruled the manner of death a homicide. The office said the final determination was made on 31 March.
The examiner added that, for death certification purposes, “homicide” refers to a death resulting from the actions of another person, including negligent acts or omissions, and does not imply intent to cause harm or establish criminal liability.
Republican Leaders Reach Deal To Fund Department Of Homeland Security
If Johnson lets the House pass the bill, it will mean the end of a seven-week shutdown that’s caused many DHS workers to miss multiple paychecks. It’s a significant retreat for Johnson and House Republicans, though it also means Democrats could soon have little leverage in the push for reforms at the two immigration enforcement agencies.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) announced they would be “fully funding the entire Department of Homeland Security” through two separate tracks, one a long-term budget process and the other a more immediate appropriation. President Donald Trump seemed to endorse the plan in a post on his website.
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