Drop Site News U.S.-Israeli Bombing and Assassination Campaign Intensifies in Iran as Israel Threatens Wider War Against Hezbollah
Mar 3, 2026
Karim Makdisi, associate professor of international politics at the American University of Beirut and co-host of Makdisi Street, offers on-the-ground perspective from Beirut. He discusses Hezbollah’s decision to enter the fight, Israeli strikes across Lebanon and Iran, and how regional strategies aim to weaken Iran and reshape power dynamics. Short, urgent takes on escalation, displacement, and looming wider war.
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U.S. Signals More Unrestrained Rules Of Engagement
- U.S. officials signaled looser rules of engagement and ostensible preemptive logic to justify strikes.
- Murtaza Hussain notes policy shifts under Pentagon leadership and political rhetoric framing preemption after Israeli actions.
Netanyahu's Long Campaign Helped Spark The War
- Netanyahu played a central role in sabotaging diplomacy that might have prevented the current war.
- Murtaza links Israeli influence to derailment of talks over nuclear enrichment and to long-term pushes that culminated in the present conflict.
Double Tap Strikes Caused Mass Casualties In Tehran
- Double-tap strikes hit crowded urban targets in Tehran during Ramadan, causing grotesque civilian casualties.
- Reza Sayah's reporting described bodies, severed limbs, and a second strike that multiplied casualties at a popular cafe.