"Donald Trump has admitted the airstrikes on Iran’s leadership have been so effective that at least two government members he had prospectively earmarked to lead Iran had been killed in airstrikes":

• Chaos Signals Iran Struggling to Function as War Turns into Fight for Survival (The Guardian)

The war front is expanding:

• Iran War: Israel Launches Deadly Strikes on Lebanon (Deutsche Welle)
• Iran Strikes U.S. Military Communication Infrastructure in Mideast (NY Times)
• The US and Israel Gravely Underestimated Iran’s Response – Here in the UAE, We Are Seeing the Consequences (The Guardian)
• Europe Today: Iran War Death Toll nears 1,000 as Trump Threatens Spain over Stance (Euronews)
• Here Are All the Countries Now Involved in the Iran Conflict (Axios)
• Iran War Taxes US Diplomatic Work and Leaves Americans in the Mideast in Limbo (Washington Post)
• Lawmakers Anticipate Trump Will Seek Emergency Funding for ‘Open-ended’ Iran War (Politico)
• The Trump Administration’s Reckless War in Iran Has Already Cost More Than $5 Billion (American Progress)
• Israel Believes Iran War Could Last Months, Testing U.S. Resolve (LA Times)
• US Troops Being Told Iran War Intended to Bring About Armageddon, Watchdog Says (Andalou Ajansi)

In a ludicrous attempt to back off of his claim that the U.S. was following Israel's lead ...

• Rubio Fends Off Barrage of Questions About Why US Started Iran Attacks (The Hill)
• Rubio Claim of Israeli Role in US Iran Attack Reverberates, Despite Denial (Aljazeera)

... Rubio now bafflingly claims the reason for the attack is because "[w]e are not going to put American troops in harms way" ...

• The Rationale for Striking Iran Was Already a Mess. Trump Just Made It Worse (CNN)

... while "House Democrats left a Tuesday night briefing on Iran expressing even greater frustration towards the Trump administration than they had going in" ...

• House Democrats Left a Tuesday Night Briefing on Iran Expressing Even Greater Frustration Towards the Trump Administration than They Had Going In (Axios)

... and "Trump’s decision to go to war was the latest indication that hawkish voices he once publicly resisted — none louder than Graham’s — have dominated his second-term decisionmaking":

• How Lindsey Graham Got Trump to Yes on Iran (Politico)

Mojtaba Khamenei is the choice to be his father’s successor but Israel has already painted a target on his back:

• Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Son Emerges as Leading Choice to Be His Successor (NY Times)
• Israel ... Threatens Iran’s Future Leader (Washington Post)
• Who Is Mojtaba Khamenei, the Son and Possible Successor of Iran’s Supreme Leader? (NY Times)

"Trump ... called Iraqi Kurdish leaders on Sunday to discuss the US military operation in Iran and how the US and the Kurds could work together":

• CIA Working to Arm Kurdish Forces to Spark Uprising in Iran, Sources Say (CNN)

The school was built on the site of an IRGC base that closed fifteen years ago:

• Thousands in Iran Attend Burial of Children Killed in Bombing of School (NY Times)
• What We Know About the Strike on a School in Iran as the Death Toll Rises (NBC News)

"US-Israeli onslaught may lead regime to push for bomb or embolden other groups to steal uranium stockpile":

• Attempt to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Programme Could Backfire and Drive Regime Towards a Bomb, Experts Warn (The Guardian)

"Jafar Panahi spoke to NBC News about what it's been like promoting his film "It Was Just An Accident" while being unable to reach his loved ones after the U.S. and Israeli strikes":

• This Oscar-nominated Filmmaker Wants to Go Back to Iran. Even if Prison and War Await (NBC News)

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Email any questions or comments to mfi@minaret.org.