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Iran’s intelligence ministry has arrested 97 people accused of being "soldiers of Israel," according to state media reports Thursday.

The arrests are part of the country’s latest security sweep, which has seen hundreds detained over alleged links to Israel and the United States since the start of the war, Reuters said.

Earlier Thursday, state media also cited the police commander of Alborz province as saying 41 people had been arrested for sending videos to opposition media channels based abroad.

TOP IRANIAN OFFICIAL, COMMANDER KILLED IN STRIKE, ISRAEL DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS

On March 10, Iran’s intelligence ministry also reported it had arrested a foreign national, along with 30 other people it described as spies, internal mercenaries and operational agents of Israel and the U.S., according to Reuters.

The latest wave of arrests came in the wake of the assassination of Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmaeil Khatib, in a targeted Israeli strike in Tehran.

Khatib’s death was confirmed March 18 by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz 10 days after the start of Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion, both targeting the Iranian regime.

ISRAEL'S MILITARY RELEASES VIDEO SHOWING OBLITERATION OF IRAN'S MISSILE LAUNCHERS, DEFENSE SYSTEMS

Under Khatib, the intelligence ministry’s role broadened significantly, and it now operates extensive informant networks across universities, media organizations, minority communities and activist circles across the country.

Its agents identify protest organizers, monitor communications and conduct interrogations, according to The Jerusalem Post.

On March 12, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) also said Iranian authorities had arrested nearly 200 people on charges related to the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.

The charges include alleged activity on social media, sending content to foreign media outlets, espionage and disturbing public order, HRANA said before adding that its count was based on official reports.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called for an immediate de-escalation in the Middle East, urging a halt to U.S.–Israeli strikes on critical infrastructure as fighting intensifies across the region.

"France calls for the immediate implementation of a moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, whether related to water or to energy," Macron wrote on X, reinforcing France’s push for diplomacy even as the United States and Israel emphasize military pressure against Iran and its proxies. "Freedom and security of navigation must be restored." 

President Donald Trump recently struck a mixed tone on France’s role, saying he had spoken with Macron and was cautiously optimistic Paris ultimately would help secure the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route for oil and energy supplies.

MULTIPLE ALLIES DECLINE US CALLS FOR STRAIT OF HORMUZ SUPPORT AMID RISING MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS

On "a scale of 0 to 10," Trump said Macron had been "an eight." 

"Not perfect, but it’s France," he said at a press briefing in the White House Monday.

Trump went on to say he believes Macron "is going to help" regarding securing the Strait of Hormuz, but added, "I don’t do a hard sell on them because my attitude is we don’t need anybody. We’re the strongest nation in the world."

"I’m almost doing it … because I want to find out how they react," Trump said, suggesting the U.S. is also testing its allies. 

In a future crisis, he warned, "I’ve been saying for years that if we ever did need them, they won’t be there. Not all of them, but they won’t be there."

The divide reflects a broader question shaping the conflict: whether diplomacy can contain Iran’s regional network, or whether force is required to dismantle it.

WORLD LEADERS SPLIT OVER MILITARY ACTION AS US-ISRAEL STRIKE IRAN IN COORDINATED OPERATION

That tension is playing out most clearly over the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that serves as one of the world’s most critical energy choke points, with roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies passing through it each day. 

In recent weeks, Iran has disrupted traffic through the strait with drone, missile and naval threats, raising fears of a broader economic shock as commercial shipping slows and global energy markets face increasing uncertainty.

Macron said France "will never take part in operations to open or free" the critical waterway "in the current context," emphasizing that France is "not a party to the conflict." 

Paris instead has proposed escorting commercial vessels only after hostilities subside, in coordination with regional actors.

At the same time, European allies — including France — signaled they are not entirely stepping back from efforts to secure the strategic waterway.

Leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan expressed in a joint statement released Thursday a "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts" to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Iran to "cease immediately its threats" against commercial shipping.

A European diplomat told Fox News that the United Kingdom is leading a diplomatic effort to build support among European and Gulf partners for a coordinated response, with discussions underway on how such a mission could be structured.

NATO HEAVYWEIGHTS BALK AT HORMUZ MISSION AS TRUMP WARNS ALLIANCE AT RISK

However, European officials remain divided over timing, with concerns that launching such an effort during active hostilities could introduce new high-value targets into the conflict, according to the diplomat.

Lebanon has emerged as a second front in the war after Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, began attacking Israel following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. 

The group launched rockets and drones from southern Lebanon, prompting Israeli retaliatory strikes and escalating the conflict into a broader regional confrontation tied directly to Tehran, Iran, and its proxy network.

While distancing itself from direct military involvement, France is intensifying its diplomatic push in Lebanon, urging direct negotiations between Israel and Beirut following signals from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun that he is open to talks.

French officials view this as a "window of opportunity" to stabilize the border and prevent further escalation, arguing that both sides share an interest in preventing Lebanon from becoming a launchpad for attacks against Israel.

But Israeli officials have sharply pushed back, arguing that diplomacy cannot succeed while Hezbollah remains armed and active. 

The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that since Hezbollah joined the fighting following strikes on Iranian regime, the group has launched hundreds of rockets, missiles and drones toward Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said Israel has come under sustained attack from Lebanese territory in recent weeks. 

"Since March 2nd, Israel has been attacked from Lebanese territory more than 2,000 times with missiles and drones," he wrote on X Tuesday. 

Sa’ar warned that the crisis extends beyond the region, calling disruptions to maritime routes "naval terrorism that harms the global economy."

While expressing openness to normalization with Lebanon, Sa’ar made clear that Hezbollah remains the central obstacle. 

"The obstacle to this is Hezbollah," he said, adding that Beirut must take "meaningful action" against the group’s weapons, funding and leadership.

Analysts say that gap — between France’s diplomatic push and Israel’s security demands — reflects a deeper structural problem that has persisted for years.

France has "potential influence that they never use … essentially the stick," David Schenker, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs who oversaw Lebanon policy during the first Trump administration and now directs the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Fox News Digital. 

He argued that Paris has failed to use its leverage to pressure Hezbollah or its backers.

While Schenker said direct negotiations between the Lebanese government and Israel could be useful, he questioned whether they would change realities on the ground.  

"I don’t see how a ceasefire in and of itself changes the status quo," he said.

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Lebanese leaders repeatedly have pledged to assert a state monopoly over weapons, but "they haven’t really done much," Schenker said, adding there is "zero confidence" they would move forward given Hezbollah’s opposition.

Even the Lebanese army has signaled its limits, prioritizing "national unity and the safety of the army above disarmament," he said.

On the ground, the situation continues to deteriorate rapidly.

Violence in Lebanon has surged dramatically since the war in Iran began.

"There has been a 400% increase in violence events in Lebanon," said Bassel Doueik, a researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), adding that Israeli strikes and Hezbollah clashes have displaced at least 1 million people.

Doueik said Israel appears to be seeking to create a buffer zone south of the Litani River in Lebanon, warning the escalation could lead to "another occupation of southern Lebanon similar to 1982."

At the same time, Hezbollah — long backed by Iran — continues to operate as a powerful armed force inside Lebanon, complicating efforts to reach any durable political settlement.

France has played a leading diplomatic role in Lebanon for years, including backing the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). But the mission has faced growing challenges, including restrictions on movement and attacks on its personnel, raising criticism about its effectiveness.

Critics argue that repeated diplomatic initiatives have failed to curb Hezbollah’s military buildup, leaving Israel increasingly skeptical of new proposals.

"The French are specializing in carrots," Schenker said, arguing that Paris has been reluctant to use pressure despite its influence in Lebanon.

But he added that the transatlantic divide is not entirely one-sided. 

"This is a war that was launched by Israel and the United States, and they disagreed with it," he said, noting that protecting global energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz should be "an international responsibility."

A retired U.S. general predicted that "neither Israel nor the U.S. will fully succeed in replacing the Iranian regime." 

Former Lt. Gen. Mark Schwartz was quoted by the Israel Hayom newspaper as making the remark. The joint U.S. and Israeli missions against Iran, named Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion, are in their 20th day Thursday.

"In my professional assessment, neither Israel nor the U.S. will fully succeed in replacing the Iranian regime. The main reason is that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of Iranian religious leaders who can replace the Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah, if he is eliminated," Schwartz told Israel Hayom. 

"No matter how many successors you kill one after another, there will always be another one in line. Iran's intelligence and security apparatus, the Revolutionary Guards, and the Iranian military also have depth. They are capable of replacing the top of the organization if it is destroyed," he reportedly added. 

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI ‘MISFUNCTIONING,’ NOT CONTROLLING REGIME: SOURCES 

Schwartz is a career Green Beret who served in the U.S. Army for 33 years, according to The National Special Forces Green Beret Memorial, where he is the chairman of the advisory board.  

The organization said, "During his career, Mark served throughout the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa," and, "He has had the opportunity to lead strategic planning and operations working with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States Agency for International Development." 

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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had warned Wednesday that if the Iranian regime survives Operation Epic Fury, "it will likely seek to begin a yearslong effort to rebuild its military, missiles and UAV forces."   

Gabbard also said the intelligence community "assesses that Operation Epic Fury is advancing fundamental change in the region that began with Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023, and continued with the 12-day war last year, resulting in weakening Iran and its proxies."   

The campaign so far has resulted in the killing of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been replaced by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. 

A group of 12 Arab and Islamic countries on Thursday condemned Iran’s "heinous" attacks, denouncing missile and drone strikes on civilian infrastructure and warning Tehran against further escalation.

The foreign ministers of Qatar, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates issued the joint statement after a consultative meeting in Riyadh.

The countries accused Iran of deliberately targeting residential areas, oil facilities, airports and diplomatic premises across the region.

The ministers reaffirmed what they called the right of affected countries to defend themselves under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and urged Iran to immediately halt its attacks and abide by international law.

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They also called on Tehran to respect their territorial sovereignty, cease support for affiliated militias in Arab countries and avoid actions that could threaten maritime security, including in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab, a key global shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The statement further expressed support for Lebanon’s stability and sovereignty, while also condemning Israel’s actions in the country and its "expansionist policy in the region."

"The Ministers reaffirm their commitment to continuing intensive consultation and coordination in this regard, to monitor developments and assess emerging issues in a way that ensure the formulation of common positions and the adoption of necessary legitimate measures and procedures to protect their security, stability, and sovereignty, and to halt the Iranian heinous attacks on their territories," the joint statement reads.

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It comes a day after Israel struck Iran’s South Pars gas field, prompting Iranian retaliatory attacks on energy infrastructure in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, including Doha’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, the world’s largest LNG production facility.

Oil prices surged Thursday morning following the strikes, with Brent crude rising to $114.08 a barrel and U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude climbing to $97.41.

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President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform that Israel would halt further strikes on Iran’s South Pars gas field unless Tehran escalates, warning that the United States could respond with overwhelming force if Qatar’s LNG facilities are targeted again.

"The United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before," Trump wrote. "I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so."

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is little more than an "empty entity" who is not at the helm of the regime, according to Israeli national security sources.

The son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a targeted Israeli strike on Feb. 28, is also linked to what officials describe as a "misfunctioning" regime.

"The new leader is an empty entity," Kobi Michael, a defense analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital.

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"Mojtaba Khamenei does not appear in public, but we also have reliable information that he does not control or lead the regime or what has been left of the regime.

"The current Iranian leadership is broken, confused and is almost misfunctioning."

Mojtaba reportedly escaped death by minutes when his father was killed Feb. 28, leaving the compound for a walk shortly before an Israeli missile strike, according to leaked audio accessed by The Telegraph.

The audio, reportedly from a March 12 meeting, revealed details about the strikes that also took out several members of the Khamenei family.

Mazaher Hosseini, head of protocol for Khamenei’s office, is supposedly heard in the audio telling senior leaders that Mojtaba sustained "a minor injury to his leg." 

Since being named supreme leader, Mojtaba has not made one public appearance. Instead, a message by him was read on Iranian state TV, warning of continued strikes and urging Gulf nations to shut down U.S. bases.

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Other reports claimed Mojtaba was in critical condition or even in a coma, though Iranian officials have insisted that the new supreme leader is in good health.

Mojtaba Khamenei vowed revenge Wednesday after the killing of senior security official Ali Larijani in an Israeli strike.

"Such acts of terror only reflect the enemies’ hostility and will strengthen the resolve of the Islamic nation. Undoubtedly, justice will be served," the statement said.

Larijani, one of Iran’s top security figures, was killed after Israeli intelligence reportedly located him and other officials on the outskirts of Tehran.

Other senior figures have also been killed in recent strikes, including Basij militia leader Gholamreza Soleimani, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

"This is not a new phase, but a continuing effort and a very successful and impressive one and a crucial component of the strategy meant to weaken the Iranian regime," Michael said of the continued strikes at regime figures.

"This is to the degree that it will not be able to reconstitute itself and/or to become again a severe threat and destabilizing player in the broader Middle East."

US-SANCTIONED MOJTABA KHAMENEI NAMED IRAN’S NEXT SUPREME LEADER AFTER FATHER’S DEATH: REPORTS

After the opening U.S.-Israeli strikes, President Donald Trump told the Iranian people that their "moment of freedom" was at hand.

"When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take," Trump said, suggesting the U.S. would help bring down the Iranian regime.

"At the very same time, by weakening the regime and paralyzing its capacities generally speaking and its domestic control specifically, the U.S. and Israel are facilitating the required conditions for the Iranian people to topple the regime," Michael added.

"This is the ultimate victory in their eyes, and the route to this destination is that they are trying to increase any damage wherever they can."

Iran’s potentially most dangerous nuclear site is buried as deep as 100 meters below a granite mountain, according to new assessments, and one nonproliferation expert warned it must be "neutralized" before the U.S. war with Iran ends.

This came as new figures released Wednesday by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) show that U.S. and Israeli forces launched Operation Epic Fury in late February and have since struck more than 7,800 targets in Iran as the conflict enters Day 18.

"Before the United States and Israel end major combat operations against Iran, they must complete two urgent tasks," Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the Nonproliferation Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a policy briefing.

WHILE UN ISSUES MIXED SIGNALS, WITKOFF EXPOSES IRAN'S NUCLEAR EVASION ‘PRIDE’

"First, they must neutralize Pickaxe Mountain. Second, they must recover or eliminate highly enriched uranium stocks to prevent them from falling into the hands of surviving regime elements, other adversarial states or terrorist proxies."

High-resolution satellite imagery from mid-February shows Iran's accelerated efforts to reinforce the site at Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, known as "Pickaxe Mountain," against potential airstrikes, according to the Institute for Science and International Security.

"At one of the eastern tunnel entrances, rock and soil can be seen pushed back and leveled on top of the tunnel portal," the institute's report said.

"Additionally, over the last month, a concrete-reinforced headworks for the tunnel entrance extension was added. This allows for additional overburden in the form of rock, soil or concrete."

STRIKES MAY SET IRAN BACK — BUT LIKELY WON'T END NUCLEAR PROGRAM, UN WATCHDOG CHIEF SAYS

The report added that "these efforts strengthen the tunnel portals and provide additional protection against an airstrike," noting visible piles of construction materials near the entrances.

Preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon is one of President Donald Trump’s stated war aims. 

In June 2025, U.S. forces carried out strikes against nuclear sites, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

Iran had roughly 441 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% as of June 2025, enough material, if further enriched to weapons-grade levels, for multiple nuclear weapons, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Rafael Grossi, its director general, also said March 9 that the U.N. watchdog believes roughly 200 kilograms of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile are still stored in deep tunnels at a nuclear complex outside Isfahan.

SATELLITE IMAGES REVEAL ACTIVITY AT IRAN NUCLEAR SITES BOMBED BY US, ISRAEL

Grossi added that additional quantities of highly enriched uranium are believed to be at another nuclear center in Natanz, where Iran has constructed a new fortified underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain.

On March 9, Trump pointed to Iran’s efforts to resume nuclear activity at a deeper site and said Tehran has continued pursuing a nuclear weapon "even after we obliterated their key nuclear sites."

"They were starting work at another site, a different site … that was protected by granite. … They wanted to go a lot deeper, and they started the process," Trump said, according to reports.

According to Stricker, the "different site" referenced by Trump is Pickaxe Mountain, where Iran has said it has been building a centrifuge assembly plant at the site since 2021. The site is a mile from its Natanz enrichment plant.

"The size of the facility, as well as the protection provided by the tall mountain, raised immediate concerns about whether additional sensitive activities are planned, such as uranium enrichment," the Institute for Science and International Security also noted in its report.

At the beginning of March, a vehicle was struck outside the site, presumably by Israel, The Wall Street Journal reported, before suggesting that the vehicle strike was evidence the U.S. and Israel are watching the mountain carefully.

Russia is covertly shipping oil to Cuba using deceptive shipping tactics to bypass U.S. sanctions, according to maritime intelligence reports, and as the island grapples with fuel shortages and power outages.

One alleged delivery came amid one of Cuba’s worst energy crises and ahead of a grid collapse on March 16 which left roughly 10 million people without electricity, according to Cuban authorities and the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.

"The Hong Kong-flagged tanker, which is not sanctioned, has AIS patterns that suggest the tanker spoofed its location and likely sailed to Cuba to discharge its cargo in early March," Windward AI said.

The Financial Times also reported March 18 that another Russian-flagged tanker, Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying crude oil, was expected to reach Cuba by April 4.

"We are ready to provide all possible assistance," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had told reporters at a briefing on Cuba on March 17, The Moscow Times reported.

PROTESTERS TORCH COMMUNIST PARTY HQ IN CUBA AS VIDEO APPEARS TO CAPTURE GUNFIRE

The alleged shipments came as senior officials at the State Department told Fox News that, under existing law, there are ways for Cuban companies and citizens to purchase oil, but said the Cuban regime is making that impossible. 

The U.S. oil embargo prevents the Cuban regime from purchasing oil only, the official confirmed.

Windward AI first identified the tanker, Sea Horse, as the key vessel in the suspected clandestine oil delivery in its report on March 18.

The firm said the vessel was thought to have transported around 190,000 to 200,000 barrels to Cuba while engaging in behavior consistent with sanctions evasion. Although the vessel is not under sanctions, Windward analysts flagged several suspicious activities.

These included switching off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) during a ship-to-ship transfer near Cyprus — where it likely loaded its cargo — and sailing without Western insurance, both common indicators of sanctions circumvention.

The tanker also repeatedly altered its stated destination, initially signaling Havana before changing to "Gibraltar for orders," a tactic often used to obscure final delivery points.

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After crossing the Atlantic, it appeared to drift while broadcasting that it was "not under command," with analysts suggesting its AIS signals may have been manipulated to conceal its true location and activities.

These movements strongly indicate that the vessel may have completed an unreported delivery to Cuba before resuming normal transmissions.

Since Jan. 29, U.S. measures — effectively creating an oil blockade — have disrupted fuel shipments to the island.

The policy shift followed major changes in Venezuela and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, further tightening supply to Cuba and discouraging other tankers from approaching its ports.

President Donald Trump had warned that countries supplying oil to Cuba could face tariffs, while Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the measures as an "economic war" and pledged continued resistance in a post shared on X.

"The only way for Cuba to fix its energy crisis is to address the root cause of its economic failures: total government control of economic life," a U.S. official told Fox News on March 17.

RUSSIA TO SUSPEND FLIGHTS TO CUBA AS TRUMP SANCTIONS CUT FUEL SUPPLY

"The regime must make significant changes, allowing for privatization and for the Cuban people to provide for themselves," they said.

Otherwise, another senior State Department official said Cuba's blackouts have "sadly become common for many years in Cuba — a symptom of the failing regime’s incompetence and inability to provide even the most basic goods and services for its people."

"This is the tragic result of over 60 years of Communist rule. An island that was once the crown jewel of the Caribbean has plunged into extreme poverty and darkness.

"As President Trump has said, what is left of the regime should make a deal and finally let the Cuban people be free and prosperous, with the help of the United States," the official said.

"Cuba right now is in very bad shape. They’re talking to Marco," Trump told reporters March 17 before adding that "we’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon."

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Wednesday replaced a longtime loyalist military official, as she continues to make changes to her cabinet amid relations with the Trump administration. 

General Gustavo Gonzalez ‌Lopez, 65, will replace General Vladimir Padrino as defense minister, who held the position for more than a decade, Reuters reported. 

In a Telegram post, Rodriguez thanked Padrino for ​his service and said he would be given new responsibilities.

MADURO'S SON GIVES 'UNCONDITIONAL SUPPORT' TO NEWLY SWORN IN INTERIM VENEZUELA PRESIDENT

Lopez, who is among several officials sanctioned by the United States and European Union for human rights violations and corruption, was appointed by Rodriguez in January as the head of the presidential guard and the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM).

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He previously worked with Rodriguez as head of strategic affairs at PDVSA, the state-owned oil company, which ​she previously oversaw as energy minister.

Padrino had also been sanctioned by the U.S. ​over alleged drug trafficking and his support for ousted President Nicolas Maduro.

Despite the U.S. intervention, Venezuela's repressive apparatus remains intact, the United Nations said last week. The government has repeatedly denied allegations of human rights and political oppression. 

The United States recently restored diplomatic relations with the South American nation following years of heightened tensions between the two states.  

One person died Wednesday when a cable car cabin at a Swiss ski resort fell and crashed on a snowy mountainside. 

The fatal incident happened at the ski resort of Engelberg in central Switzerland around 11 a.m. local time, authorities said. 

2 SKIERS KILLED IN AVALANCHE ON POPULAR MONT BLANC SKIING ROUTE NEAR FRENCH-SWISS BORDER

"A cabin of the ‘Titlis Xpress’ gondola lift between Trübsee and Stand detached from the cable and plunged down the snow-covered slope in rugged terrain," a press release states. "A person who was in the cabin at the time of the accident sustained fatal injuries."

The person was identified as a 61-year-old woman. Her exact cause of death has not been disclosed.

Investigators from several agencies were looking into how the accident happened. 

AMERICAN SKIERS RESCUED AFTER GETTING LOST NEAR OLYMPIC VENUE IN THE ITALIAN ALPS

"It's also important for us that the incident is investigated down to the second. We will provide all the data without gaps," said Norbert Patt, CEO of Titlis cable cars, during a news conference, the Blick newspaper reported. "It's an extraordinary event. Gondolas shouldn't crash," he added.

Patt said there was a breeze at the time the gondola fell, but could not say how strong the winds were. 

Several schoolchildren attending a ski camp witnessed the accident. 

"I was really shocked. We were then afraid to go back down in the gondola," a 14-year-old girl told the news outlet. 

A former Syrian prison official was convicted by a U.S. federal jury in Los Angeles Monday on torture and immigration fraud charges after prosecutors said he oversaw and at times personally carried out brutal abuses against detainees under the now-ousted regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, a former brigadier general who once headed Damascus Central Prison, also known as Adra Prison, was found guilty following a nine-day trial of conspiracy to commit torture, immigration-related fraud offenses, and three counts of torture, according to the Justice Department.

The case marks a historic step toward accountability, with Alsheikh becoming the first Assad-era official to be tried and convicted in a U.S. federal court.

Prosecutors said the 73-year-old ordered and oversaw the torture of political prisoners between 2005 and 2008, including beatings, suspension from ceilings and the use of devices such as the so-called "Magic Carpet," which folded victims’ bodies to inflict extreme pain.

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He entered the United States in 2020 after lying about his past on his visa application and later attempted to become a U.S. citizen, authorities said.

Alsheikh, who was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in 2024 as he attempted to board a one-way flight to Beirut, faces up to 20 years in prison for each torture-related count when he is sentenced at a later date.

"Samir Ousman Alsheikh ordered, directed, and directly participated in heinous acts of torture designed to inflict excruciating mental and physical pain with the goal of punishing and silencing political dissent," said Tysen Duva, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s criminal division in a statement.

"For many years, he evaded responsibility for his crimes in Syria, including by lying to U.S. immigration authorities in order to reside in the U.S. with the hope of obtaining citizenship. Thanks to the courage and perseverance of the victims and the dedication of Department of Justice prosecutors, along with their law enforcement partners, justice has prevailed and Alsheikh can no longer run from his past."

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According to a federal criminal complaint filed in July 2024, Alsheikh was an associate of Maher al-Assad, the younger brother of Bashar al-Assad, who led the Syrian military's elite Fourth Division.

He was appointed by Assad in 2011 as governor of Deir ez-Zor following anti-government protests that spread across the country during the Arab Spring.

The Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), a Washington-based advocacy group, assisted investigators in bringing the former regime official to justice. The organization first identified Alsheikh in Los Angeles through a tip and conducted its own verification using open-source material and leaked Syrian government data.

It then alerted U.S. authorities and worked with the FBI and Justice Department to help build the case, including connecting investigators with key witnesses who testified about abuses at Adra Prison. According to SETF, it pushed for torture charges rather than solely immigration violations to ensure broader accountability.

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Mamoun al-Homsi, a former independent member of the Syrian Parliament, was arrested in 2001 for demanding democratic reforms and spent five years in Adra Prison. He told Fox News Digital in an interview, through a translator, that Alsheikh stood out from other prison directors for his brutality.

Al-Homsi said that while previous prison heads largely adhered to prison rules and did not target detainees for their political views, Alsheikh's arrival in 2005 marked a shift. 

"The toughest torture for me wasn't anything done to me physically as much as it was what was done to others on my behalf," said al-Homsi.

SETF executive director Mouaz Moustafa, who attended the trial, told Fox News Digital that testimony revealed Alsheikh allegedly ordered another prisoner, Khaled Abdul Malek, to poison al-Homsi.

"Khaled Abdul Malek had come so close to Mamoun al-Homsi so he told him about this plan and told him don't eat anything from anyone to the point where Mamoun al-Homsi would go to the trash if there was any and wash whatever is left," Moustafa said.

Malek refused Alsheikh’s demand to poison the prominent political figure, leading to him being placed in Wing 13, a notorious part of the prison where people were tortured.

"Khaled Malik then had his back broken," Moustafa said, adding that he arrived in court with a cane and could barely walk.

Al-Homsi said he survived on olive pits and lost more than 60 pounds. He was released in 2006 and later fled to Canada.

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The former parliament member told Fox News Digital the verdict sends a message that former regime officials cannot evade accountability, even if they leave Syria and attempt to rebuild their lives abroad.

Al-Homsi called the verdict a signal that justice, though long delayed, is finally taking hold — an outcome he described as essential for the future of a free Syria.

A reported airstrike on a hospital in Afghanistan that allegedly left hundreds dead is drawing growing scrutiny, not only over the strike itself but over what critics describe as a muted international response.

Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government said more than 400 people were killed and hundreds were wounded after a strike hit the Omid Hospital, a major drug rehabilitation facility in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to Reuters. Civilians, including children, also have been killed in escalating cross-border strikes in Pakistan, The Associated Press reported. 

The casualty figures have not been independently verified.

The strike comes amid a rapidly escalating military campaign between Pakistan and Afghanistan that has intensified over the past three weeks.

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Cross-border airstrikes and clashes have expanded across multiple provinces, with Pakistan targeting what it says are bases of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group responsible for attacks inside Pakistan and designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. The Taliban government has accused Islamabad of violating Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

At a United Nations briefing Wednesday, a U.N. spokesperson said the conflict has now entered its third week, with widespread civilian impact. More than 115,000 people have been displaced, more than 300 shelters damaged or destroyed, and at least 25 health facilities closed or disrupted due to the fighting, according to U.N. humanitarian agencies.

Pakistan has denied targeting a hospital, saying the operation struck militant infrastructure.

"Since the beginning of this counterterrorism campaign, Pakistan has sought to defend and protect the people of Pakistan … by targeting terrorists and terrorist infrastructure that are incubated and nurtured by the Afghan Taliban," the prime minister’s spokesperson Mosharraf Zaidi told Fox News Digital.

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Zaidi said the strike targeted weapons and ammunition at Camp Phoenix in Kabulm Afghanistan, and insisted, "There are no civilian hospitals in Camp Phoenix," adding that reports of a rehabilitation facility being hit may be due to "secondary explosions" from stored weapons.

The United Nations on Wednesday, two days after the attack, condemned the reported strike, with Secretary-General António Guterres, through a spokesperson, "strongly condemning" an airstrike that "reportedly resulted in the death (and) injury of civilians at a hospital," and calling for an independent investigation.

Still, some analysts say the response does not match the scale of the incident.

"U.N. officials swiftly condemned U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s regime as unlawful ‘aggression’ … Yet Pakistan’s airstrike on Kabul’s Omid Hospital — killing over 400 civilians — has drawn only a belated ‘strong condemnation’ … and standard pleas for ‘de-escalation’," Executive Director of UN Watch Hillel Neuer told Fox News Digital.

"This restrained response — no personal outrage from Guterres, no emergency session naming Pakistan, and no equivalent chorus from U.N. rapporteurs, or agencies like WHO, U.N. Women, and UNICEF — reveals rank hypocrisy," he said. "When hundreds of vulnerable Afghans die in a hospital, the U.N. offers measured words. Yet when the U.S. or Israel can be blamed — justifiably or not — the condemnation is immediate and overwhelming. When some victims matter far more than others, the U.N. reveals its cynical political agenda. This double standard doesn’t uphold human rights, it erodes them." 

Australian human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky echoed that criticism in a post on X, calling the strike "an absolute massacre," while noting what he described as a lack of global outrage: "World outrage? Zero. Could barely muster p17 in the newspaper here."

Belgium is ramping up security for its Jewish community after a recent synagogue attack heightened fears across Europe, as a newly emerged terrorist group with suspected ties to Iran has claimed responsibility for a series of strikes on Jewish targets across the continent.

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, translated as "The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right," said it carried out multiple attacks recently, including the March 9 explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, according to a Fox News Digital report. The group also claimed responsibility for an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam, Belgium, and an explosive attack on a Jewish school in Amsterdam. 

A fourth incident at a Jewish site in Greece has been linked to the group by several sources, though details about that attack remain limited. 

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said March 15 that "a jihadi group tied to an Iranian proxy" was behind the attacks, adding that "the IRGC continues to sponsor and export terror across the globe," referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

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Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin described the blast outside a synagogue in the eastern city of Liège as a "despicable antisemitic act" that directly targeted the country’s Jewish community.

Prime Minister Bart De Wever responded on X Monday morning, writing, "Antisemitism is an attack on our values and our society, and we must combat it unequivocally. We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Liège and throughout the country."

Joe Truzman, senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of its Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital that the war in Iran has likely "compelled the group, for whoever is behind this, to start launching these attacks." 

Truzman said he "suspect(s) this organization is being directed" and that there is "an entity behind it." 

In response to the attack in Liège, Belgian officials announced increased protection measures.

"To protect our Jewish community, we are deploying military personnel to support security on our streets. The safety of every citizen must be guaranteed," Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken wrote on X Monday. "Antisemitism and hatred against Jews will never be tolerated. We will stand firm against it, always."

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The move drew praise from U.S. officials.

"Last week, I urged Belgian officials to adequately protect Jewish communities—thank you, Defense Minister Francken and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prévot, for stepping up with increased security measures," Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism at the State Department, wrote, adding that he looks forward to working with Belgian counterparts "to safeguard the Jewish community."

Undersecretary of State Sarah B. Rogers also welcomed the decision, calling it a rare example of action rather than rhetoric.

"We hear a lot of talk about combating antisemitism and other forms of hatred — but it’s satisfying to see practical action, like this, to guard the public square against brute terrorist violence targeting Jews and others," Rogers wrote on X. "Liberty in the tweets, order in the streets."

Belgium long has maintained heightened security around Jewish institutions following past attacks, including the 2014 shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels that killed four people — one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in the country’s modern history.

Still, Jewish organizations warn the current moment reflects a renewed and dangerous escalation.

"This criminal act against a Jewish house of worship is deeply alarming and part of a broader and troubling rise in antisemitic incidents and violent extremism across Europe," the World Jewish Congress said in a March 10 statement.

Fox News Digital reporter Beth Bailey and Reuters contributed to this report.

Video footage captured the fiery aftermath of a ballistic missile strike that hit Ramat Gan, a neighborhood east of Tel Aviv, overnight Tuesday, killing at least two people, according to Israeli officials.

The footage shows a car engulfed in flames, with wreckage scattered across the street as emergency responders assess the scene and ambulance sirens sound in the background.

The missile was launched by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which said it targeted central Israel to avenge the killing of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and one of the country’s most powerful figures.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it launched Khorramshahr-4 and Qadr multiple-warhead missiles, which it claims have an increased chance of evading missile defense systems and can overwhelm radar tracking. 

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Israel said the two victims killed in the overnight strike were a couple in their 70s.

The attack is part of a rapidly escalating tit-for-tat conflict that began Feb. 28 following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, which have since killed multiple senior Iranian officials. Those include Larijani and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij militia, who was killed Tuesday.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also said Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib was killed in an overnight strike, though Iran has not confirmed his death.

Iran has responded with a widening campaign of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, U.S.-linked positions and energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf, including strikes reported in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

The broader conflict has raised fears of a regional war and potential disruptions to global energy supplies, as Iran has also threatened shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical transit route for the world’s oil. 

Israel killed Iran’s Minister of Intelligence Esmaeil Khatib in a precision strike overnight, a senior Israeli official told Fox News Wednesday.

The official said the strike was enabled by a joint U.S.-Israeli intelligence effort and described Khatib as a central player in plots targeting American officials.

"This man had American blood on his hands. His network specifically targeted current and former U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump," the official added.

Khatib had previously survived a sweeping strike on Iran’s senior leadership at the "Defense Council" compound in Tehran during the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury, where more than 40 Iranian leaders were killed in roughly 40 seconds, according to the official.

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He was reportedly the only person to survive the initial attack.

"Today, he met the fate of his combatant comrades," the official told Fox News.

Israel has targeted and killed several senior Iranian leaders since the start of the war, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Gen. Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Basij unit, and Mohammad Pakpour, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Israel Defense Forces said Khatib played a central role in directing crackdowns on protesters, including arrests and killings during recent unrest and the nationwide demonstrations sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini.

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The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Khatib in 2022 for his role in leading Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), which U.S. officials said was responsible for cyberattacks against the United States and its allies. 

Treasury said the ministry oversaw global cyber operations targeting government and private-sector organizations, including disruptive attacks on critical infrastructure.

United Against Nuclear Iran, a non-partisan advocacy group, said Khatib enlisted in the IRGC at the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980 and studied under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.

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He joined MOIS in 1985 or 1986 after it was established in 1983.

The State Department’s Rewards for Justice program last week offered up to $10 million for information on senior Iranian security figures tied to the IRGC and its networks, including Khatib.

EXCLUSIVE: The leader of an international pro-life group is criticizing a bill being considered in the United Kingdom that would protect women from criminal liability for abortions up until birth.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, 40 Days for Life CEO Shawn Carney said British lawmakers are following efforts by Democrats in the U.S. in seeking to allow abortion in these instances, which he described as "absolutely absurd."

"They haven't really lobbied for this," Carney said. "Typically, Europe is far more conservative on abortion than the United States. Most European countries regulate abortion to 12 weeks. England has 16. In some cases, they do late term, up to 24 weeks. But now they want abortion through all 40 weeks. And this just seems sort of out of nowhere."

Carney said he fears this bill, if enacted into law, would "start an unfortunate trend throughout Europe."

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The Crime and Policing Bill includes a provision, Clause 208, that would remove criminal penalties for women in England and Wales who end their own pregnancy at any stage. The bill is now in its final stages in the House of Lords and is expected to receive a vote as early as Wednesday. If the House of Lords approves the clause, the bill would return to the House of Commons for any final changes before receiving Royal Assent to become law.

Under the provision, a woman can no longer be investigated, arrested or prosecuted for ending her own pregnancy at any gestation, even though the current standard legal threshold for most abortions in England and Wales is 24 weeks.

While women who terminate their pregnancies would be exempt from criminal liability, doctors and others who assist in an abortion after 24 weeks without medical necessity can still face prosecution.

As lawmakers consider Clause 208, several amendments have been offered, including removing it entirely, modifying it to exclude late-term abortions and adding an in-person requirement for medical consultations to end so-called "pills-by-post" services.

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Carney argued that the latter two amendments should still be unacceptable, stating that the clause appears to represent "a desire to kill."

"I think it's insane," he said. "I know what they're trying to do, but you need to combat the laws by saying we're not aborting children at 40 weeks. The left built an entire movement on being able to survive outside the womb with viability. Then, as science and medicine progressed, viability changed because we could do a lot for unborn children. So they said at first it was 24 weeks, and then it was 22 weeks. Some say it's 20 weeks. Others say it's still 22 weeks. Nobody's ever said it was 40 weeks. They've all said, of course, you can survive outside the womb. This is just a desire to kill, it seems, at 40 weeks."

"I understand the idea of trying to make a legal compromise," he continued. "But the compromise would be that you people have lost your minds. You want to abort a child the day before he or she is born. And it's not medically necessary. The baby's completely viable … so that's how I think that you have to defeat these bills."

Carney also said that "people don't want to celebrate abortion" and "certainly don't want to brag about how they can have an abortion up to 40 weeks," adding that opponents of the U.K. bill are "missing common sense responses" to efforts to allow any abortion up until birth.

He added that while most people are not "monsters" seeking abortions at 40 weeks, removing legal liability for women at that point could make abortion more socially acceptable.

"I think what it does is it takes a little bit of a stigma away from abortions at 8, 10, 12, 16 weeks, because typically what we've seen in the U.S. is when you have states that say, hey, you're going to have an abortion through all 40 weeks, what they do is say, well, okay, I'm not that bad. My abortion is not that bad because it's only at 10 weeks, it's only at 12 weeks, it's only at 16 weeks," Carney said.

"It's not that you're going to see a lot of abortions at 40 weeks. It's the mentality that abortion is not a big deal. You can even do it the day before birth, and so it's more acceptable to most people," he continued.

"People aren't monsters," he added. "The monsters write these bills, which are typically very liberal White people who say, you know what, we need to be able to have an abortion the day before your birthday. And most people look around at a party and say that person's clinically insane."

The left "has just married themselves to this," Carney said.

"They believe you need unfettered abortion at all times in order to be a free and just society," Carney said. "But nobody's actually really medically needing that whatsoever."

Nigeria suicide bombings killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 100 others in Maiduguri, officials said Tuesday, as a Christian nonprofit leader warned the violence highlights ongoing religious persecution.

The Associated Press reported that one of the deadliest attacks on Maiduguri in recent history involved explosions in crowded areas on Monday night, including a major market in the capital of Borno state and the entrance to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

Borno police spokesperson Nahum Kenneth Daso said in a statement that the wounded "sustained varying degrees of injuries," blaming the attacks on suspected suicide bombers.

President Bola Tinubu, who departed Nigeria on Tuesday for a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom, offered condolences to the victims and instructed security chiefs to "take charge of the situation" in Maiduguri.

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"The Monday attacks were desperate acts of the evil-minded terrorist groups," Tinubu said. "Our gallant military and civilian task forces will curtail and put them down."

While no group has claimed responsibility, the AP reported suspicion has fallen on the Boko Haram jihadi group, which launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 to enforce its radical interpretation of Shariah law.

Since launching its insurgency, Boko Haram has grown stronger, with thousands of fighters and multiple factions, some aligned with the Islamic State group.

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The explosions on Monday night began at about 7:30 p.m. at the entrance of the teaching hospital. A few minutes later, a second and third blast followed at the Monday Market and a nearby post office hub, both about 2.5 miles from the hospital.

Caleb Jonah, who survived the explosion at the hospital entrance, told the AP he suffered injuries to his legs and hands.

"I was coming to the hospital to check (in on) a patient when I saw two men struggling with the security men at the gate," Jonah said. "Before I could process what was going on I heard the deafening blast and I passed out."

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Brad Brandon, CEO and founder of Across Nigeria, said the attack was personal. His organization is committed to transforming Nigeria and the surrounding regions by sharing the love of God through Jesus Christ, according to the group’s website.

"As the CEO and founder of Across Nigeria, these recent attacks in Maiduguri are personal and a stark reminder that the devastating violence continues in northern Nigeria," he said in a statement. "This is the result of radical Islamic groups that are allowed to operate unchecked. The only question is, how many more must be killed, before the world wakes up to the genocide that slaughters thousands of Christians every year."

"We condemn these violent acts and the perpetrators who commit them," he added. "We also call on the U.S. Government to intervene and the media to embrace their role in bringing light to the hidden things of darkness."

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While Maiduguri has been at the center of deadly violence in Nigeria, it has experienced relative peace in recent years, even as extremists batter the countryside.

Monday’s attack took place less than 24 hours after the Nigerian military repelled attacks by militants outside Maiduguri.

By Tuesday morning, heavy security had been deployed to the affected locations and along major roads.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that U.S. sanctions on Cuba are tied to political change on the island, as the country faces widespread blackouts, unrest and a worsening economic crisis.

"Suffice it to say that the embargo is tied to political change on the island," Rubio told reporters at the White House. "The law, it's been codified. And, but the bottom line is their economy doesn't work. It's a nonfunctional economy. It's an economy that has survived.… That thing they have, has survived on subsidies from the Soviet Union and now from Venezuela. They don't get subsidies anymore. So they're in a lot of trouble. And the people in charge of them don't know how to fix it. So they have to get new people in charge."

Rubio’s comments come as Cuba faces a deepening energy crisis that has fueled protests and instability. 

A nationwide power grid collapse left roughly 10 million people without electricity, according to U.S. Embassy statements and Cuban authorities.

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President Donald Trump indicated his administration is actively engaged. 

"Cuba right now is in very bad shape. They're talking to Marco," Trump told the reporters, "We’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon.… We’re dealing with Cuba."

Trump escalated his rhetoric against Cuba Monday, saying ‌he expected to have the "honor" of "taking Cuba in some form" and that "I can do anything I want" with the neighboring country.

A senior State Department official rejected claims that U.S. sanctions are responsible for the humanitarian situation, saying, "Widespread blackouts have sadly become common for many years in Cuba — a symptom of the failing regime’s incompetence and inability to provide even the most basic goods and service for its people."  

"This is the tragic result of over 60 years of Communist rule," the official added. "An island that was once the crown jewel of the Caribbean has plunged into extreme poverty and darkness. 

"As President Trump has said, what is left of the regime should make a deal and finally let the Cuban people be free and prosperous, with the help of the United States," the official told Fox News Digital.

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Cuban human rights activist Rosa María Payá argued that the current crisis reflects systemic collapse inside the regime, not external pressure. 

"The blackout is the regime's collapse made visible: 65 years of totalitarianism finally consuming itself," Payá told Fox News Digital. "The protests are Cubans refusing to disappear into that darkness." 

She rejected claims that U.S. sanctions are driving the humanitarian situation. 

"Cubans are not suffering because of American policy," she said. "They are suffering because of a dictatorship. Pressure on the regime works. What hurts the Cuban people is legitimizing it." 

"The only way to end the humanitarian catastrophe is to end the regime," Payá added. "That’s the demand of the Cuban people." 

Recent blackouts and shortages have been linked to failures at key infrastructure, including the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant, as well as fuel shortages following U.S. actions to curtail oil shipments from Venezuela, one of Cuba’s primary energy suppliers.

At the same time, Pentagon officials told lawmakers there are no plans to invade Cuba, even as they described it as a long-standing security concern.

Joseph Humire, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and Americas security affairs, said he was "not familiar with any plans on Cuba" when asked during a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.

He described Cuba as "one of the strongest intelligence adversaries that we've had in the United States," adding that Cuban officials have operated across the region and were "defending Nicolás Maduro… in Caracas" during past operations. 

Cuba’s government has blamed U.S. sanctions for worsening the crisis, while U.S. officials argue it stems from decades of economic mismanagement and reliance on foreign subsidies.

FIRST ON FOX: While officials of the U.S.-designated terrorist movement of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) cower in underground bunkers amid joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes, ordinary Iranians are lambasting the clerical regime for failing to build enough bomb shelters and provide early warning siren systems.

Iranians sent text messages to Fox News Digital about their efforts to secure knowledge about the progress of the joint U.S.-Israel aerial warfare campaign against Islamic Republic military sites and share the theocratic state’s contempt for the civilian population.

"In a country that has spent 47 years boasting about its military strength to the world, there are no warning sirens, let alone shelters. They themselves hear the sound of airplanes and drones realize the [enemy airplanes] have come into the sky. They do not even have radar," Noori from the capital city of Tehran wrote.

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To compensate for the lack of bomb shelters and safe rooms in residential housing, Noori said Iranian authorities designated 82 metro stations and 300 parking garages in Tehran as shelters for the people.

"This is what they call shelter. Bear in mind that first, there are no bathrooms in the Metro stations, and also, during the 12-day war, when people tried to go there, they were locked."

Noori said, "The families who live in the residential compounds of the IRGC and the army are now living in the metro stations out of fear."

Noori and the other Iranians who communicated with Fox News Digital are using their first names because of the risk of retaliation from the regime’s brutal security forces.

Faraz, who is from Tehran, said, "We are now in a situation where we have no shelters, and we fear for our lives. If we were at war with someone who would attack residential buildings, so many of the regular citizens would have died. We do not even have warning sirens."

Lisa Daftari, an Iran expert, told Fox News Digital, "What we're seeing on the ground in Tehran is a city operating without any formal civil defense infrastructure. Families with children or elderly relatives have largely evacuated to the countryside or the Caspian coast. Those who remain are sheltering in place — moving away from windows when they hear explosions, retreating to underground parking structures in apartment buildings."

Daftari, the editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, added, "There are no bomb shelters. There are no warning sirens. The Iranian people have been given no formal system to protect themselves. What you are seeing on your screens — crowds in the streets — are not spontaneous shows of support. Those are Basij militia on megaphones, ordering people out of their homes, so the regime can manufacture images of a loyal population."

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s placement of military installations in highly packed civilian areas is endangering the country’s population, according to legal experts.

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The Pentagon is investigating a military air strike that reportedly hit an Iranian school for girls in the town of Minab Feb. 28, the start of the U.S. Operation Epic Fury against Iran’s regime. The air strike reportedly killed 175 people, most of whom were children, at the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school, according to Iran’s regime. The school was located on the same street as buildings used by the IRGC.

Avi Bell, a professor at the University of San Diego Law School and Bar Ilan University’s Faculty of Law, told Fox News Digital, "It's highly unlikely that heavily populated civilian areas are used as drone attack sites or missile launch sites for any reason other than human shielding. On military grounds, it would make far more sense for the launch sites not to be near civilian areas."

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Noori was critical of the regime: "They boast to the whole world, but they shut down water, electricity, air and the internet for their own people. Whatever money they received from Biden and Obama and from selling oil, they spent on missiles, drones, Hamas, Hezbollah and building weapons."

Manouchehr, who is also from Tehran, wrote, "I am messaging you under very difficult conditions, with an extremely weak internet. I had to pay a very high price for a VPN just to send you this message. The security situation is not good at all. These clerics have spent our money for years on missiles and drones, and on funding Hamas and Hezbollah. They have not even built a single shelter for us, yet for 47 years, they have been threatening the world."

The VPN allows a few Iranians to circumvent Iran’s near total communications shutdown. According to Netblocks on Monday, "The internet blackout in Iran is entering its 17th day after 384 hours. Over the last day, a decline has been tracked in reserved telecoms network infrastructure, further reducing VPN availability and sending some whitelisted users and NIN services offline."

Manouchehr added, "We are grateful to President Trump for not bombing residential areas. I ask you to please tell them [the U.S. Government] not to declare a ceasefire. Otherwise, these hyenas will not leave any of the Iranian people alive, and they will take revenge for Israel’s and America’s attacks by targeting the Iranian people."

Iranians have noted that after the eight-year war between Iraq and Iran (1980–1988) when Iraqi missiles were launched into the civilian sector in Iran, the ayatollahs could have built a bomb shelter system.

Lawdan Bazargan, an Iranian-American activist and human rights expert on the situation in Iran, told Fox News Digital, "The Islamic regime of Iran shows no value for human life and treats the Iranian people not as citizens, but as a conquered population and slaves. It has spent decades building tunnels for missiles and drones, yet it has left 90 million people without sirens, shelters or any system to warn civilians of danger. At the same time, the internet is largely shut down, and phone lines are restricted, leaving people unable to receive news or even contact their families.

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"What makes this even more shocking is that, during the Iran–Iraq war in the 1980s, when I lived in Iran, there were at least warning sirens. People had a few minutes to move away from windows or find some protection. Today, even that basic level of safety no longer exists."

Iran’s regime imprisoned Bazargan in its infamous Evin prison in Tehran for her political dissident activities during the 1980s.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced March 8 that it issued a "safety warning to civilians in Iran … as Iran’s terrorist regime blatantly disregards the safety of innocent people."

According to the CENTCOM statement, "The Iranian regime is using heavily populated civilian areas to conduct military operations, including launching one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles. This dangerous decision risks the lives of all civilians in Iran since locations used for military purposes lose protected status and could become legitimate military targets under international law. Iranian forces are using crowded areas surrounded by civilians in cities such as Dezful, Esfahan and Shiraz to launch attack drones and ballistic missiles."

Hossein, who lives in Tehran, said, "Landline phones are also under very strict security control. There are absolutely no warning systems or alerts, and if any danger occurs, people have nowhere to take shelter because, overall, the lives of the Iranian people have no value for this government."

Ahmadreza Radan, commander of Iran’s police, said over 80 people had been arrested for spreading "disturbing content" online, and officers are "ready to pull the trigger" if protests occur.

A spokesman for Iran’s U.N. mission refused to provide a comment for this article.

As the U.S.–Iran war enters a new phase, the range of options now being discussed stretches from hitting Iran’s economic and oil lifeline at Kharg Island to the far more dangerous prospect of a ground invasion, or a narrower operation focused on Iran’s nuclear material. 

The urgency comes as recent U.S. strikes have degraded parts of Iran’s military infrastructure without collapsing the regime, raising pressure on the Trump administration to decide what comes next. 

Each option carries significant risks: disrupting Kharg Island could shock global oil markets, a ground invasion could draw the U.S. into a prolonged regional war, and operations targeting nuclear material could trigger escalation while still failing to eliminate the threat. 

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What happens next could determine not only the trajectory of the conflict with Iran, but also the stability of global energy supply and the future of Tehran’s nuclear program.

Recent U.S. strikes already hit military targets on Kharg Island, a small island in the Persian Gulf that serves as Iran’s main oil export terminal that has emerged as a central pressure point in the conflict, while sparing its oil infrastructure, underscoring just how consequential the next move could be.

Kharg Island is the centerpiece of Iran’s oil export system. The island handles about 90% of Iran’s oil exports, and Iran recently has been exporting roughly 1.1 million barrels to 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, mostly to China. 

Recent U.S. strikes on Kharg targeted military installations while leaving key oil facilities intact — a sign that Washington is trying to preserve a major pressure point without immediately detonating global oil markets.

Abdullah Aljunaid, a Bahraini analyst, told Fox News Digital that after Iran’s military capabilities were weakened, the U.S. focus could shift to economic pressure on Iran. 

"The Iranian military capacity and offensive abilities have been totally degraded, so we need to probably do something else," Aljunaid said.

Aljunaid pointed to key strategic sites, including Bushehr — a coastal city in southern Iran on the Persian Gulf that hosts the country’s only operational nuclear power plant and a key port — and Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub.

"We need to take certain strategic assets — geography — like Bushehr and Kharg, out of the equation," he said. "Those two, especially Kharg, represent the jewel of the crown, and without that, Iran’s economic ability to finance itself is going to be dead."

He added that control over key maritime choke points could further shift the balance. 

"If the U.S. decided to take Bushehr at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, then I believe we can really see a different equation, forcing the Iranians to come to the negotiating table on our terms — the U.S. terms, and probably the rest of the world."

Retired Gen. Jack Keane has argued that the U.S. could take Iran’s main oil export hub if it chose to do so, but so far has chosen "not to take that now," he said on Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures."

Keane said such a move would effectively put the Iranian regime in "checkmate," given how heavily its economy depends on the island. 

"Now we (would) own all of their major assets," Keane said. "It's 50% of their budget, 60% of the revenue, 80, 90% of the distribution points for their oil." 

That view reflects the logic behind a Kharg scenario: disable the regime’s cash flow without launching a full-scale war across Iran’s interior. At the same time, the fact that Kharg’s oil infrastructure was reportedly spared suggests Washington thinks taking the island fully offline could send energy prices sharply higher and shake global markets. 

Kharg’s facilities include major storage capacity and any serious disruption there could remove up to roughly 2 million barrels a day from global supply. 

There also is a nonkinetic version of this scenario. 

In an analysis shared with Fox News Digital, Rick Clay, who served as a senior deputy adviser in Iraq from 2003 to 2009, argued that maritime insurance can function as a strategic choke point. 

His argument is that a tanker without recognized coverage cannot easily dock, finance cargo or operate in compliant markets, meaning the United States could pressure Iran’s export system financially even without physically seizing the island.

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Public analyses have long described Iran’s geography as deeply unfavorable to invading armies, with mountain barriers and desert terrain complicating any large-scale advance. 

Historical comparisons often point to Iraq’s failed 1980 invasion of Iran, which turned into a long and bloody war rather than the quick victory Saddam Hussein expected.

The term "Fortress Iran" is often used by analysts to describe the country’s natural defenses — a combination of vast mountain ranges, including the Zagros and Alborz, along with deserts and difficult terrain that have historically made invasion and occupation extremely challenging.

For those reasons, analysts say a ground invasion remains the most extreme — and least plausible — path, given Iran’s size, terrain and history.

Aljunaid made a similar point, noting that even the 1991 liberation of Kuwait required more than half a million troops, and warning that a war inside Iran would be exponentially more complicated.

That concern is reinforced by the current state of the conflict. 

Despite sustained U.S.-Israeli strikes and heavy damage to Iran’s military infrastructure, the regime itself remains intact and more hardline, The Washington Post reported, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps consolidating power rather than collapsing. 

In other words, air superiority has not translated into regime collapse, which makes the leap to occupation even harder to imagine.

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"We’re not going to put troops on the mainland," Clay said. "The only troops you might see, if anything, would be to take out those three islands. That’s it."

He added that there is "no appetite" for a sustained ground presence inside Iran, arguing that any internal change would ultimately depend on the Iranian people.

 "It’s going to be in the Iranians’ hands at that point — the Iranian people — whether they rise up," he said. "We’ve done damage. We’re still going to do some more damage. We’re not done." 

A third scenario would aim not at occupying territory, but at Iran's nuclear program itself. 

A narrower operation likely would involve targeting Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles and deeply buried facilities — potentially including efforts to locate, secure or disable nuclear material that cannot be destroyed from the air.

A third scenario would aim not at occupying territory, but at Iran’s nuclear program itself.

Although President Donald Trump said the June 2025 U.S. strikes had "obliterated" key nuclear sites, analysts note that critical elements of Iran’s program — particularly enriched uranium stockpiles and deeply buried facilities — likely remain intact.

Iran is believed to possess roughly 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with more than 200 kilograms likely stored in the underground Isfahan tunnel complex, Reuters reported March 9.

That matters because the material is small enough to hide and move, unlike oil infrastructure, and some of these deeply buried facilities are believed to have survived conventional air attacks — raising the possibility that securing or neutralizing nuclear material could require more targeted, specialized operations.

Kharg Island offers a way to squeeze Iran’s economy. A ground invasion offers the possibility of a decisive force at extraordinary cost. Targeted operations against nuclear equipment offer a narrower path, but one with high operational risk and no guarantee of finality. 

The next phase of the war may depend on which of those risks Washington is willing to take.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital that "President Trump and the administration have clearly outlined the goals of Operation Epic Fury: destroy Iran’s ballistic missiles and production capacity, demolish their navy, end their ability to arm proxies, and prevent them from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon." 

"This effort will continue until President Trump, as Commander-in-Chief, determines that the goals of the operation, including for Iran to no longer pose a military threat, have been fully realized," she added. 

The Pentagon chose not to provide a comment. 

Reuters contributed to this report.  

The European Union's foreign policy chief said Tuesday that the bloc is consulting with Gulf countries to potentially "bring forward proposals for Iran, Israel and the U.S." to get out of their war in a situation where "everybody saves face."

Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, made the remark to Reuters, adding that "it would be in the interest of everybody if this war stops."

"We have been consulting with regional countries like ‌the Gulf ⁠countries, Jordan, Egypt, [about] whether we could also bring forward proposals for Iran, Israel and the U.S. to get out of this situation so that everybody saves face," Kallas was quoted as saying. 

"The problem with wars is that it's easier to start than to stop them, and it always gets out of hand," she also reportedly said, noting that the EU is willing to assist "diplomatically to bring the parties together to really stop this war."

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Kallas also pushed back after President Donald Trump said over the weekend that, "Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe." 

"Nobody is ready to put their people in harm's way ‌in ⁠the Strait of Hormuz," Kallas told Reuters on Tuesday. "We have to find diplomatic ways to keep this open ⁠so that we don't have a food crisis, fertilizers crisis, energy ⁠crisis as well."

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Trump said on Truth Social on Saturday that, "We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are." 

"Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated," Trump wrote. "In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water. One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!"