🇷🇺🤝🇮🇷 Russia's Lavrov meets with Arab ambassadors in Moscow who request that he pressure Iran to de-escalate.

Lavrov rejects their requests and points out that they have not condemned the bombing of the girls' school in Iran, and that Bahrain reportedly is seeking to introduce a resolution at the UNSC that condemns Iran's retaliation, but not Israel and the US for initiating the war.

Whether that is accurate or not, Lavrov's response seems to suggest that 9 days into the war, Moscow's position is moving closer to that of Tehran.

🔗 Trita Parsi (@tparsi)

🇮🇱⚔️🇮🇷 “Black rain” and “nuclear winter” effect reported in Tehran after Israeli strikes on oil facilities

▪️ Israeli strikes on oil depots around Tehran have released massive quantities of toxic hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Mixed with rainwater, these chemicals are causing highly acidic precipitation that can cause skin burns and severe lung damage upon contact, according to Iranian authorities.

▪️ Dense plumes of black smoke from the Shahran and other refineries have blotted out the sun, plunging parts of the city into darkness and creating a "nuclear winter" effect, NYT reported. Authorities warned that these noxious fumes cause acute respiratory distress and eye irritation.

▪️ Oil-saturated rainwater has blanketed the city, leaving rooftops, balconies, and streets covered in a thick, murky black liquid and oily soot. This contamination poses a long-term risk of heavy metals like nickel and vanadium leaching into the soil and local water systems.

▪️ Environmental groups warn the pollution threatens migratory birds crossing the Persian Gulf. The "black rain" and smoke plumes can cause internal organ damage and destroy the insulating properties of bird feathers, leading to hypothermia and death.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society warned of the dangers of the rain, advising residents to protect themselves and to cover exposed food from oily soot particles. Officials said the rain is highly corrosive and could potentially damage civilian structures.

📝: Israel/The US casually causing a dozen types of cancer to existing and future generations of Iranians. 14 million people live in the Tehran Metro Area, a population that is bigger than the state of Pennsylvania (13 million people). The Tehran Metro Area would be the 5th most populous state in the U.S. behind only New York, Florida, Texas and California.

🔗 @DropSiteNews:

🇰🇷🕊🇰🇵 South Korea seeks ‘peace declaration’ to formally end Korean War

Seoul says proposed statement would signal political will to move beyond the 1953 armistice

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Friday it will pursue a political “peace declaration” aimed at formally ending the Korean War and laying the groundwork for a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, according to local media.

The proposed initiative would involve South Korea, North Korea, the United States and China, which were signatories to the original armistice agreement.

The idea resembles a similar initiative pursued by former President Moon Jae-in. His push for an end-of-war declaration stalled after the 2019 Hanoi summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump ended without an agreement.

🔗 https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/south-korea-seeks-peace-declaration-to-formally-end-korean-war/3852340

🇺🇸 Kansas City International Airport has had all flights stopped and all passengers evacuated amid credible reports of a bomb threat.

🔗 AF Post (@AFpost)

🇺🇸 President Trump will be stopping in Hebron, Kentucky, on March 11th to participate in a campaign rally of Ed Gallrein, trying to raise support for Thomas Massie's opponent.

The Republican Party of Kentucky also announced Trump's visit in a Facebook post March 8, saying, "Join us Wednesday as President Trump lays out the work he's doing to make America affordable again and the plan Republicans have to keep our country moving forward."

While the event is public, the White House is requiring those interested in attending to register beforehand at a link posted on its website.

Primary elections in Kentucky will take place on May 19, with the general election set for Nov. 3.

Thomas Massie is expected to win the Primary race.

🔗 https://eu.cincinnati.com/story/news/2026/03/08/donald-trump-making-stop-in-hebron-kentucky-on-march-11/89052663007/

🇮🇷⚔️🇺🇸 CENTCOM announced the 9th American casualty in the US-Israel-Iran War.

The soldier was injured on March 1st and died recently of his injuries.

@CIG_telegram

🌧☣️⚠️ The toxic cloud of black acidic cancerous rain over Tehran caused by Israel and the US will be moving to the northeast over the Caspian Sea towards Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and eventually reach western China, passing over Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in the process, harming hundreds of million of people in the process.

@CIG_telegram

🇺🇸 The USS Nimitz (CVN-68) has been pulled out of retirement and instead of going to the Norfolk Naval Station for decommissioning, it will go the Caribbean for the Southern Seas 2026 exercises.

🔗 SA Defensa

🛢 HORMUZ TRACKER: Iran-Linked Ships Are the Only Ones to Transit

During the observed window, one Iran-linked bulk carrier departed the Persian Gulf, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. No ships appeared to make the journey in the opposite direction.

The last commercial ship with no apparent link to Iran to transit Hormuz was the Chinese-owned bulk carrier Sino Ocean, which made the crossing on Saturday morning.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy artery, has effectively halted following several attacks on merchant ships. Missile and drone activity continues to pose a critical risk to all vessels in the vicinity.

The inability to move oil tankers into and out of the Gulf means storage tanks are filling and some refineries have cut capacity. Iraq has been forced to scale back production, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have followed, while Saudi Arabia is boosting shipments from its terminals in the Red Sea to record levels. By Friday, there were just nine empty supertankers in the Gulf, tracking data show.

Widespread signal interference and disabled transponders have made real-time tracking of ships difficult around the Strait of Hormuz. This gap in reporting prevents consistent daily oversight, as ship locations often remain unknown until they reappear on satellite feeds days later.

When potential transits are identified, signal histories are examined to determine if the movement appears genuine, or are the result of spoofing — where electronic interference can falsify the apparent position of a ship.

Some transits may not have been detected if vessels’ transponders haven’t been switched back on. Iran-linked oil tankers often steam from the Persian Gulf without broadcasting AIS signals until they reach the Strait of Malacca about 10 days after passing Fujairah. Other ships may be adopting similar tactics and won’t show up on tracking screens for many days.

🔗 https://archive.ph/dOnE4

🇱🇧⚔️🇮🇱 Hezbollah is able to target Israeli soldiers and civilians because IDF is focused on Iran, says analyst Ron Ben-Yishai; deploying most intel resources and air power in Iran limits Israel's ability to collect intel on Hezbollah moves and respond quickly.

To resolve this, IDF will have to divert intel resources to Lebanon and/or launch a major ground operation deep into Lebanon. But as long as Iran conflict continues, Israel will have to wait with a major assault on Hezbollah.

via Ynet

🔗 Israel Radar

🇸🇾🇮🇶❌🇺🇸 Syria's Kurds caution Iran's Kurds against aligning with US against Tehran

Kurdish residents of northeast ​Syria warned Iran's Kurds against aligning with the U.S. to fight the Iranian government, citing their own experience in Syria in recent ‌months as evidence their Iranian counterparts would be "abandoned."

Iranian Kurdish militias based in northern Iraq have consulted with the United States in recent days about whether and how to attack security forces in western Iran,

But Syria's Kurds warned their Iranian counterparts against partnering with Washington.

"I hope that the Kurds of ​Iran will not ally themselves with America, because they will abandon them," said Saad Ali, a 45-year-old resident of the northeastern Syrian Kurdish ​town of Qamishli.

"Tomorrow, if an agreement is made between them (the U.S.) and the Iranians, they will eliminate you. Do not ⁠make our mistakes," he told Reuters.

Syrian Kurdish fighters aligned with the U.S. more than a decade ago to fight the Islamic State group, setting up ​their own semi-autonomous zone in the territory they had seized from the ultraconservative Islamist fighters.

But in January, Syria's new army under President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured most of ​the Kurdish-held areas in a sweeping offensive. Syria's Kurds called on the U.S. to intervene on their behalf, and felt betrayed when Washington instead urged them to merge with Sharaa's forces.

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrias-kurds-caution-irans-kurds-against-aligning-with-us-against-tehran-2026-03-08/?taid=69adbf050a461e0001979ebf

#BREAKING 🇮🇷 — By vote of the Assembly of Experts, Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei is the next Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

🇺🇸🇸🇦🇮🇷⚡️ — NEW: The U.S. State Department has ordered American staff at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia to leave the country, citing rising security risks, following several Iranian drone attacks on the building and in the nearby area, according to NYT.

➡️ The move marks the first ordered departure since the war with Iran began on Feb. 28.

🇮🇷❌🇮🇱 — IRGC launches ballistic missiles towards central Israel.

🇮🇷❌🇮🇱 — Sirens ring in Tel Aviv. IRGC ballistic missiles approach.