Drone Strike Kills French Soldier, Injures 5 In Iraqi Kurdistan
A drone attack near Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan killed one French soldier and injured at least five others, the French military officials said early on March 13.
AFP quoted a member of the French military as saying the troops were "engaged in training activities on counterterrorism with Iraqi partners." It was not immediately clear if the French troops were working with Iraqi Kurdish forces or Iraqi Army troops.
It also was not clear where the drones came from. An Italian base was also targeted, but no casualties were reported there.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that "attacks against our forces are unacceptable." He identified the slain soldier as Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion.
French military officials said the injured soldiers were taken to a nearby medical center. The officials did not disclose the condition of those troops.
The Peshmerga -- Iraqi Kurdish fighters – are based in the semiautonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
The Iraqi Kurdish militias are separate from the self-exiled Iranian Kurdish fighters now also based in Iraq. Tehran's forces have targeted the groups amid fears that the militias could join the US-Israeli war against Iran.
France has maintained close ties to the Iraqi Kurdish population. It first sent several dozen soldiers to the region in 2014, although it was not immediately clear how many personnel are now station at the affected site in the Makhmour area.
US To Allow Sale Of Some Russian Oil To Ease Shortages Amid Iran War
The United States said it will temporarily allow the sale of Russian oil that is currently at sea in an effort to ease any price pressures caused by shortages linked to the US-Israeli strikes against Iran and Tehran's subsequent retaliatory strikes.
The US Treasury said it issued a license permitting sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products that have been loaded on vessels on or before 12:01 a.m. March 12 for 30 days until April 11.
"To increase the global reach of existing supply, the Treasury is providing a temporary authorization to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on X.
"This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction," he added.
The move comes a day after the Energy Department said the United States would be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to ease surging oil prices in the wake of the Iran war. That would be a part of a wider move by the 32-nation International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels of oil.
The Russian oil is "stranded" at sea because of US sanctions on major Russian producers, creating financial risks for potential buyers, putting the crude in transit without landing points.
Experts estimated that there are more than 100 million barrels of Russia-origin oil at sea globally.
The White House has barred the purchase of Russian oil and threatened massive tariffs on countries that do so, as a way of blocking funds to help finance the Kremlin's war on Ukraine.
Democrats and some Republicans have come out against the possibility easing of sanctions against Russia. Critics have complained that President Donald Trump has favored Moscow and have expressed worries that any additional oil revenue will help President Vladimir Putin extend his attacks on Ukraine.
The White House has denied that Trump favors Russia in negotiations to end Moscow's war on Ukraine.
On March 6, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a 30-day waiver of sanctions so that India could buy Russian oil. Russia’s proceeds from those sales to India are widely estimated at billions of dollars.
In addition to the waiver, Trump and Bessent have said a broader relaxation of sanctions on Russian energy exports are possible.
US Says KC-135 Refueling Aircraft Crashes In Western Iraq
The Pentagon said a KC-135 refueling aircraft has gone down in western Iraq during the current air campaign against Iran, marking the fourth US military aircraft lost during the mission.
US Central Command, responsible for American forces in the Middle East, on March 12 said in a statement that the incident involved two aircraft and that the downing was "not due to hostile fire or friendly fire."
"The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Two aircraft were involved in the incident," it added.
The statement said that one of the aircraft involved in the incident went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.
On March 2, US military officials said three F-15 fighter jets crashed in Kuwait after being hit by friendly fire from Kuwaiti air defenses.
All six of the crew from the three F-15s ejected and parachuted to the ground before being located by rescuers, Central Command said.
Trump Suggests Iran Soccer Team Withdraw From World Cup For Safety Reasons
US President Donald Trump suggested in a social media post that Iran’s national soccer team should pull out of the upcoming World Cup tournament because of “life and safety” reasons.
“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” he wrote on March 12 on Truth Social, without specifying what the dangers might be.
The United States, Canada, and Mexico are co-hosting the 2026 World Cup -- perhaps the most popular sporting event in the world -- running from June 11 to July 19.
All three of Iran's three group stage matches are scheduled to take place at US venues.
The team is slated to play New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 in the Los Angeles area. It is scheduled to face Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.
Iran's national sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, told state TV this week that the country could not participate in the World Cup amid the ongoing US-Israeli air strikes against Iran beginning on February 28.
He specifically cited the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, who died during the first day of air strikes against Iran. His son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was chosen on March 8 to succeed him.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino on March 12 said he had spoken with Trump “about the situation in Iran,” and was told that Iran's team is “welcome to compete” in the 48-team World Cup, which occurs every four years.
Trump on March 3 said that “I really don’t care” when asked about the possibility of Iran withdrawing from the World Cup.
Netanyahu Says 'Heavy Blows' Dealt To Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that almost two weeks of air strikes on Iran have dealt heavy blows to the country's main armed forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and the Basij paramilitary.
Speaking in his first press conference since the start of US-Israeli air strikes on February 28, Netanyahu said one of the main aims of the campaign is to stop Iran from moving nuclear and ballistic weapons projects underground.
He added in the March 12 press conference that the military operation is also aimed "to create, for the Iranian people, the conditions to bring down this regime."
Israeli President Calls For 'Hitting Iran Hard' As Attacks Continue On Both Sides
The exchange of fire between Iran and Israel continued on March 12, with strikes hitting civilian sites in central Israel as its military claimed to have targeted Basij militia checkpoints in Tehran.
Speaking to RFE/RL, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said his country aims to keep up the intense campaign to "remove [Iran's] capabilities" to wage war.
Israeli Army Confirms Targeting Checkpoints In Tehran
The Israeli Army announced on March 12 that the country's air force had targeted checkpoints in Tehran over the past 24 hours.
Israel's statement, which included video footage, said its air force had identified and targeted "Basij unit posts and forces" in several locations in Tehran, killing members of the paramilitary forces.
Israel claimed the attacks are "deepening the blow to the nuclear layers and key infrastructure" of the Iranian regime.
While publishing images and reports of widespread drone flights in the skies over Tehran, Iran's Fars News Agency -- which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps -- reported that Israeli strikes were seeking to target checkpoints of government agents in Tehran.
Fars reported that 10 officers were killed during these attacks.
Saudi Arabia Says Iranian Drones Headed For Shaybah Oil Field Intercepted Again
Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it intercepted three drones headed towards the Shaybah oil field on March 12, the latest in a series of attempts by Iran to strike the facility and disrupt global energy markets as part of its retaliation for US and Israeli air strikes. "Interception and destruction of a drone in the Empty Quarter heading towards the Shaybah field," the ministry said in a post on X. Earlier in the day, the ministry said two drones heading towards the same field were also destroyed. On March 11, Saudi Arabia said it had prevented several drone attacks against the facility, which is crucial to the country's oil production.
US 'Not Ready' To Escort Oil Tankers, Says Energy Chief
US President Donald Trump has said the US Navy may be brought in to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC in an interview on March 12 that it may take several more weeks before that is possible.
"It'll happen relatively soon, but it can't happen now,” Wright said in the March 12 interview.
"We're simply not ready. All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran's offensive capabilities and the manufacturing industry that supplies their offensive capabilities."
To read the full report, click here.
Iran's Navy Is Largely Gone. The Threat To The Strait Of Hormuz Is Not.
The United States and Israel have largely destroyed Iran's conventional naval fleet in a massive bombing campaign since February 28.
But Tehran's threat to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping routes, has not diminished. Iran has effectively closed the narrow waterway, through which 20 percent of the world's oil supplies flow, by using asymmetric warfare tactics.
Besides Iran's conventional navy, the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of the country's armed forces, has its own naval units that continue to hound and attack shipping in the Persian Gulf.
"While I think the Iranian Navy is largely combat ineffective at this point, the IRGC navy remains able to harass shipping," said Sascha Bruchmann, a military and security affairs analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
"That maintains a specter of danger that most civilian shipping lines and insurers will find unacceptable," Bruchmann added.
To read the full report, click here.
