March 27, 2025 - Daily News Digest
On this day in 2020, North Macedonia became the 30th country to join NATO.
QotD: "We will no longer stand by and watch while these platforms make our children addicted and often also sick ... The risks associated with this use were ignored for long enough, and now it is time to act,” Austrian Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler said while speaking on the country’s ban of social media for children under 14.
US/ISRAEL/IRAN/MIL – US can only confirm about a third of Iran’s missile arsenal destroyed, sources say.
The United States can only determine with certainty that it has destroyed about a third of Iran's vast missile arsenal as the U.S. and Israeli war on the country nears its one-month mark, according to five people familiar with the U.S. intelligence.
The status of around another third is less clear but bombings likely damaged, destroyed or buried those missiles in underground tunnels and bunkers, four of the sources said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the information.
One of the sources said the intelligence was similar for Iran's drone capability, saying there was some degree of certainty about a third having been destroyed.
The assessment, which has not been previously reported, shows that while most of Iran's missiles are either destroyed or inaccessible, Tehran still has a significant missile inventory and may be able to recover some buried or damaged missiles once fighting stops.
The intelligence stands in contrast to President Donald Trump's public remarks on Thursday that Iran had "very few rockets left". He also appeared to acknowledge the threat from remaining Iranian missiles and drones to any future U.S. operations to safeguard the economically vital Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters first reported that he is weighing whether to escalate the conflict by deploying U.S. troops to Iranian shores along the Strait.
"The problem with the straits is this: let's say we do a great job. We say we got 99% (of their missiles). 1% is unacceptable, because 1% is a missile going into the hull of a ship that cost a billion dollars," Trump said at a televised Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
MORE – Israeli strike kills Iran’s navy commander Alireza Tangsiri.
Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Thursday that an Israeli airstrike had killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' navy.
"Last night, in a precise and lethal operation, the IDF eliminated the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' navy, Tangsiri, along with senior officers of the naval command," Katz said in a video statement.
"The man who was directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to shipping was blown up and eliminated."
The US military also confirmed the killing on Thursday, and said that the elimination of Alireza Tangsiri "makes the region safer".
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), added in a statement that every Iranian serving in the IRGC navy should "abandon their post and return home to avoid further risk of unnecessary injury or death".
MORE/GULFIES – Gulf states tell US ending the war is not enough, Iran’s capabilities must be degraded.
Gulf Arab states are telling the U.S. that any deal with Tehran should do more than end the war, and must permanently curb Iran's missile and drone capabilities and ensure global energy supplies are never again "weaponised", four Gulf sources said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, or face the destruction of its energy plants.
But the big question confronting Gulf policymakers is no longer how the Iran war ends, but what kind of regional order follows, the four Gulf sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Gulf officials, whose countries have been repeatedly fired on by Tehran during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, have told Washington in private meetings that the Islamic Republic has left them no diplomatic "off-ramp", the sources said.
The officials want any deal to lock in enforceable restraints on missile and drone attacks on energy and civilian assets, threats to oil and shipping routes, and proxy warfare, the sources added.
HORMUZ/CHINA – Chinese ships halt attempt to exit Hormuz despite Iran safe passage assurances.
Two Chinese container ships turned backed after trying to exit the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, ship-tracking data showed, despite assurances from Iran that Chinese vessels could pass.
The operator, China's COSCO, had said in a March 25 client advisory that it had resumed bookings for general cargo containers for shipments from Asia to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.
The CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean, both Hong Kong flagged, have been stuck in the Gulf since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28.
They attempted to pass through the strait at 0350 GMT on Friday but then turned back, analysis from the Kpler data platform showed.
While this was the first crossing attempted by a major shipping group since the start of the war, Friday's incident showed "safe passage could not be guaranteed", Kpler analyst Rebecca Gerdes said.
On Wednesday, Tehran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in a Tweet that Iran "permitted passage through the Strait of Hormuz for friendly nations including China, Russia, India, Iraq, and Pakistan".
The two vessels both broadcast messages on their AIS ship-tracking systems stating they had Chinese owners and crews, data on the LSEG platform showed on Friday.
UKRAINE/RUSSIA/US/TALKS – Ukraine: US tied guarantees to Donbas withdrawal – Zelensky.
https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-us-tied-guarantees-to-donbas-withdrawal-zelenskyy/a-76544649
The United States is making security guarantees for Ukraine conditional upon Kyiv's surrender of its entire eastern Donbas region to Russia, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian leader's comments came as a delegation of Russian lawmakers heads to Washington for meetings with US counterparts.
"We hope that these first, cautious steps will contribute to the continued revival of our bilateral relations," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin had determined the "most important targets" for the visit and would remain "extensively informed."
The Duma delegation's trip comes as negotiations aimed at ending Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which is now into its fifth year, appear to have stalled despite three rounds of talks between US, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Abu Dhabi and Geneva this year.
The key sticking point remains Moscow's insistence that Kyiv cede the entirety of its industrial eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk which are largely — but far from entirely — occupied by Russian forces.
Kyiv, on the other hand, is determined to obtain concrete security guarantees from its Western allies, both financial and military, to deter any future resumption of Russian aggression.
"The Americans are prepared to finalize these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas," Zelenskyy told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday, while European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc shared concerns about Ukraine being pressured into ceding territory.
US/RUSSIA/CUBA/BLOCKADE – Russian oil tanker nears Cuba in test of US resolve on blockade.
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20260326-russian-tanker-near-cuba-tests-us-resolve-on-blockade
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev confirmed Wednesday that Russia is providing fuel shipments to Cuba, saying, “We are sending humanitarian aid. We are providing humanitarian support,” and that the move is intended to help the island cope with severe shortages caused by a US blockade. In January, the Trump administration halted the subsidised Venezuelan oil shipments that had kept the Cuban energy grid running.
The Anatoly Kolodkin oil tanker, which left the Russian port of Primorsk on March 8, is expected to reach its destination on Thursday. It initially listed “Atlantis” as its destination – likely a reference to a marina in Boston, according to the MarineTraffic website – but its current trajectory and increasingly patchy tracking data point elsewhere.
Earlier this month, maritime trackers indicated that a different Russian tanker likely delivered diesel to Cuba, suggesting that the Kolodkin is just the latest fuel shipment aimed at alleviating the island’s energy shortage.
Analysts note that the vessel is already under US sanctions, accused of being part of Russia’s network for bypassing restrictions on its energy exports. Earlier speculation suggested possible diversions to Trinidad and Tobago or Venezuela, but Cuba now appears to be the confirmed destination.
CHINA/TAIWAN/DRONES – China stations jets-turned-drones at bases near Taiwan Strait, sources say.
China has stationed obsolete supersonic fighters converted to attack drones at six air bases close to the Taiwan Strait, according to a new report by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
Satellite imagery of these airfields from the February report, “China Airpower Tracker,” shows what appear to be lines of stubby, swept-winged aircraft matching the shape of J-6 fighters that first flew with the Chinese air force in the 1960s. Since their conversion to drones, these aircraft have been identified at five bases in Fujian Province and one in Guangdong Province, according to the report from the Arlington-Virginia based institute.
Senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute, J. Michael Dahm, said China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has deployed an estimated 200 or more obsolete fighters converted to drones to airfields near the Taiwan Strait.
These jets-turned-drones would fly into targets in the opening phase of an assault on Taiwan, Dahm, a former U.S. naval intelligence officer, told Reuters. They would be used more like cruise missiles than autonomous or remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
“They will attack Taiwan, U.S. or allied targets in large numbers, effectively overwhelming air defenses,” said Dahm. He compiled the data for the report from open source intelligence and commercial satellite imagery.
US/CONGRESS/FUNDING – Senate approves funding for TSA and most of Homeland Security, but not for immigration enforcement.
https://apnews.com/live/tsa-government-shutdown-ice-trump-03-27-2026
The Senate early Friday morning approved Homeland Security funds to pay Transportation Security Administration agents and most other agencies, but not the immigration enforcement operations at the heart of the budget impasse that has jammed airports, disrupted travel and imposed financial hardship on workers.
The deal, which the Senate approved unanimously without a roll call, next goes to the House, which is expected to consider it Friday.
With pressure mounting to resolve the 42-day stalemate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the endgame emerged in the final hours before TSA workers miss another paycheck Friday. President Donald Trump said he would sign an order to immediately pay the TSA agents, saying he wanted to quickly stop the “Chaos at the Airports.” The deal did not include any of the restraints Democrats have demanded as they sought to rein in Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
US/TECH/AI/ANTHROPIC – US court suspends Pentagon sanctions against Anthropic.
https://www.dw.com/en/us-court-suspends-pentagon-sanctions-against-anthropic/a-76556322
Artificial intelligence company Anthropic, on Thursday, won temporary legal relief in its dispute with the US Pentagon over military applications of its AI models.
A San Francisco judge issued a temporary injunction blocking the Trump administration's move to label Anthropic as a "supply chain risk to national security." This order will take effect in seven days, giving the government time to appeal.
Judge Rita Lin said the government could choose not to use Anthropic products, but seemed to be punishing it for publicly criticizing the administration. That would violate free speech rights enshrined in the US constitution, she said, adding that the designation was likely unlawful and arbitrary.
"We're grateful to the court for moving swiftly, and pleased they agree Anthropic is likely to succeed on the merits," an Anthropic spokesperson said.
"While this case was necessary to protect Anthropic, our customers, and our partners, our focus remains on working productively with the government to ensure all Americans benefit from safe, reliable AI."
AUSTRIA/SOCIAL MEDIA – Austria plans social media ban for children under 14.
Austria's conservative-led, three-party government plans to introduce a ban on social media use for children under 14, it said on Friday.
Cabinet members from the three ruling parties announced a deal between them on the principle of a ban, aimed at protecting children from "algorithms that are addictive" and content including sexual abuse, but could not say when it would begin, and they have yet to agree on how it will be implemented.
"We will decisively protect children and young people in future from the negative effects of social media," Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler of the Social Democrats said.
"We will no longer stand by and watch while these platforms make our children addicted and often also sick ... The risks associated with this use were ignored for long enough, and now it is time to act," he added.
Australia introduced a social media ban for under-16s in December, the first country to do so. Various countries are considering or moving towards similar bans. France's lower house of parliament approved a ban for under-15s in January.
Comments (2)
I have a question, and since don't feel important enough to join at the analyst level, I'll post it here: It appears to me that the President's health and mental well being is fading faster and faster. My question is what can we expect in policy/administration changes under President Vance?
Hope you feel better Peter!