reports

Seoul says Pyongyang has not been supplying Iran with weapons in the hopes of being able to reopen diplomatic dialogue with the US.

North Korea appears to be distancing itself from longtime partner Iran in the hopes of forming a new relationship with the United States, South Korean intelligence believes.

Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) sees no signs that North Korea has sent weapons or supplies to Tehran since the US-Israel war on Iran began at the end of February, lawmaker Park Sun-won, who attended a closed-door briefing held by the NIS, said on Sunday.

While Iran’s other allies China and Russia have frequently issued statements on the US-Israel war on Iran, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has only issued two toned-down statements so far, said the NIS.

While Pyongyang did condemn the US and Israeli attacks on Iran as illegal, it did not issue public condolences after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death or send a congratulatory message when Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, succeeded him.

The spy agency said Pyongyang is likely adopting this cautious approach to position it for a new diplomatic chapter with the US once the Middle East conflict subsides, said Park.

The NIS also told lawmakers that it now believes Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un is grooming his teenage daughter as his successor, citing a recent public display of her driving a tank.

The NIS said the imagery was intended to highlight the supposed military aptitude of the youngster, who is believed to be around 13 and named Ju Ae.

Such scenes are intended to pay “homage” to Kim’s own public military appearances during the early 2010s, when he was being prepared to succeed his father, Park said.

Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, was earlier thought to be a leading candidate to succeed her brother.

On Monday, she was in North Korean headlines as she welcomed an apology issued by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday over a January drone incursion.

“The ROK [Republic of Korea] president personally expressed regret and talked about a measure for preventing recurrence. Our government appreciated it as very fortunate and wise behaviour for its own sake,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Seoul initially denied any official role in the January drone incursion, with authorities suggesting it was the work of civilians, but Lee said a probe had revealed government officials had been involved.

“We express regret to the North over the unnecessary military tensions caused by the irresponsible and reckless actions of some individuals,” Lee said.

Lee has sought to repair ties with North Korea since taking office last year, criticising his predecessor for allegedly sending drones to scatter propaganda over Pyongyang.

His repeated overtures, however, have gone unanswered by the North until now.

Lee’s expression of regret follows Kim’s labelling of Seoul as the “most hostile state” in a policy address in March in which he vowed to “thoroughly reject and disregard it”.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Secret Service said Sunday it was investigating reports of overnight gunfire near Lafayette Park, which is across the street from the White House.

No injuries were reported and no suspect was found after a search of the park and the surrounding area after midnight, the agency said in an online post.

President Trump was spending the weekend at the White House, which had no immediate comment on the incident. White House operations remained as normal but security in the area was increased, according to the Secret Service.

The park has been fenced off for weeks of renovations.

The Secret Service said it was working with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Park Police.

A SpaceX IPO promises to be one of the biggest Wall Street events of the year, with several investment banks lining up to help raise tens of billions to fund Musk’s ambitions to establish a base on the Moon, place data centres the size of several football pitches into orbit, and possibly one day send a human to Mars.

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The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the confidential registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission publicly.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Exactly how much SpaceX plans to raise has not been disclosed, but the figure is reportedly as high as $75bn (€65bn). At that level, the offering would easily surpass the $29bn (€25bn) raised by Saudi Aramco in its 2019 IPO.

The offering, which could come as early as June, may value SpaceX at around $1.5 trillion — nearly double its valuation in December, when some minority shareholders sold their stakes, according to research firm PitchBook, prior to an acquisition that increased the company’s size.

Musk currently owns about 42% of SpaceX, according to PitchBook, although that figure will change after the IPO as new shares are issued. In any case, he is likely to surpass the trillion-dollar mark, as he is already close. Forbes estimates Musk’s net worth at roughly $823 billion.

In addition to building reusable rockets to launch astronauts and equipment into orbit, SpaceX owns Starlink, the world’s largest satellite communications company. The company has also recently brought under its umbrella two other Musk businesses: social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and artificial intelligence firm xAI, in a controversial transaction, as both the buyer and seller were controlled by him.

SpaceX has become the leading commercial launch company in its industry, sending payloads into orbit for customers worldwide. However, it has also benefited from significant public funding, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest, given that Musk was a major donor to President Donald Trump’s campaign and remains a strong supporter.

Over the past five years, SpaceX has secured $6bn (€5.2bn) in contracts from NASA, the Department of Defense and other US government agencies, according to USAspending.gov.

Among current SpaceX investors is Donald Trump Jr, the president’s eldest son, who owns shares through 1789 Capital. The venture capital firm made him a partner shortly after his father won a second term and has since invested in federal contractors seeking government business.

The White House and Trump have repeatedly denied any conflicts of interest between his role as president and his family’s business dealings.

The proposals request that Iran must “commit never to pursue nuclear weapons“, pledge to dismantle nuclear facilities and to hand over the enriched amounts of uranium it possesses to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, which is to monitor the issue going forward.

March 25 (UPI) — The Pentagon has ordered paratroopers to the Middle East, as President Donald Trump pursues a diplomatic solution to the war with Iran while declining to rule out the possibility of launching ground operations, according to reports.

The contingent of paratroops to be deployed are from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, out of Fort Bragg, N.C., and will include Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, the division commander, The New York Times, CNN and CBS News reported, citing unidentified sources.

The soldiers are specifically members of the 82nd Division’s Immediate Response Force, The Times, CNN and The Washington Post reported. According to the U.S. Army, the Immediate Response Force is its only division capable of beginning an airborne assault operation anywhere in the world within 18 hours of receiving orders.

Rep. Jason Crow, a Democrat from Colorado and a former paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, lambasted Trump over the announcement Tuesday night.

“These paratroopers, and the American people, deserve better,” he said in a statement. “We must protect our service members and stop spending billions of dollars a day fighting overseas wars of choice, especially as folks back home can’t afford gas, groceries or healthcare.”

The announcement comes as Iran’s claimed closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which flows about 20% of the world’s oil supplies, has seen energy prices surge and nations scrambling to mitigate the effects on their economies.

It was unclear exactly how many the paratroops would be deployed or where they would be sent, but their deployment could give Trump a rapid-response force in the region, while representing an escalation in the conflict.

Earlier this month, U.S. Central Command said it had struck more than 90 military targets on the Kharg Island, a key location in Iran’s ability to enforce its maritime blockade, including naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers and other military sites.

Trump described the strike as “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island.”

“For reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil infrastructure on the Island,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. “However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.”

Trump on Saturday had given Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to open the strait or the U.S. military would “obliterate” its power plants, to which Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, responded that if the American president makes good on his threat, critical and energy infrastructure and oil facilities would be “irreversibly destroyed.”

On Monday, Trump announced that he had extended the ultimatum five days after having what he called “very good and productive conversations” on a solution to the war with Iran.

Trump said Tuesday that negotiations with Iran were underway and that the Iranians “want to make a deal.”

The extent of the negotiations was unclear.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has destroyed over 80,000 civilian units leaving many causalities, according to Iranian officials. Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi reports from a residential building hit in a recent attack.

Reports say Sardar Azmoun, who plays for UAE club Shabab Al-Ahli, was expelled for Instagram post with Dubai’s ‌ruler.

Sardar Azmoun, one of ⁠Iran’s top football players, has ⁠been expelled from the national team for a perceived act of disloyalty to the government, Iranian media has reported, making it unlikely he will play any part in the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

Iran’s participation in the global football showpiece is under a cloud because of the ongoing conflict with the United States, who are co-hosting the June 11-July 19 tournament with Mexico and Canada.

If Team Melli do turn up for their opening-round group matches, they will ⁠undoubtedly be weakened by the absence of striker Azmoun, who has scored 57 goals in 91 internationals since making his debut as a teenager in 2014.

Azmoun, who plays his club football in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Dubai club Shabab Al-Ahli, upset the Iranian authorities this week by posting a picture on his Instagram feed of a meeting with Dubai’s ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Iran has launched rocket ‌and drone attacks on the UAE following air strikes by the US and Israel, which killed the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A report on the Fars News Agency, which has links to the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, cited “an informed source within the national team” as saying Azmoun had been expelled from the squad.

Pictures removed

Azmoun later removed the pictures but was still lambasted on state TV on Thursday, with football pundit Mohammad Misaghi saying the striker’s actions had been an act of disloyalty.

“It’s unfortunate that you don’t have enough sense to understand what kind of behaviour is appropriate ⁠at a given time,” Misaghi said.

“We should not mince words with such people. They should be ⁠told that they are not worthy of wearing the national team jersey.

“We have no patience for this sulking and childish behaviour. National team players should be people who proudly belt out the national anthem and deserve to wear the Iran jersey.”

There was no immediate response to a request for comment on ⁠the matter from the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI).

Azmoun, 31, is one of the best-known footballers in Iran, where the game is a national obsession.

He has played his ⁠entire club career abroad with stints at Zenit Saint Petersburg, Bayer Leverkusen and ⁠Roma, as well as featuring for Iran in the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.

An unsourced report on the Novad News channel said on Thursday that an order had been issued for the seizure of the assets of Azmoun, another UAE-based national team forward Mehdi Ghayedi, and former international Soroush Rafiei.

Misaghi was speaking against ‌the backdrop of pictures of a ceremony welcoming the Iranian women’s national team back to Tehran on their return from Australia.

Seven of the delegation accepted asylum in Australia after the team was branded “wartime traitors” on Iranian state TV for not singing the ‌national ‌anthem before a Women’s Asian Cup match. Five later decided to return to Iran.

Iran’s men are scheduled to play friendly internationals in Antalya, Turkiye, against Nigeria on March 27 and Costa Rica four days later as part of their World Cup preparations.

March 19 (UPI) — The FBI is investigating Joe Kent, who resigned this week as the counterterrorism director in protest over the war with Iran, over allegations that he leaked classified information, according to reports, while Trump administration officials attack his credibility.

Kent resigned Tuesday as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, a position to which the MAGA supporter and far-right conspiracy theorist with ties to White nationalist groups was nominated in early 2025 by President Donald Trump, stating that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.”

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” he said.

The FBI investigation into Kent predates his resignation, unidentified sources told Semafor, the first to report on the development. The New York Times, NewsNation and others have since corroborated that story.

Kent is the first senior Trump administration official to resign over the war that has divided Republicans and supporters of the president, who campaigned on ending conflicts while warning Americans that if the Democrats were to return to the White House, the United States would be lured into a war with Iran.

Little information about the allegations against Kent was known. The revelations of the investigation come as the White House was attempting to undermine and dismiss the man Trump had repeatedly called “a Great American Hero” for his service as a soldier, Green Beret and CIA officer.

In his resignation letter, Kent argued that Trump was pulled into the war by Israel, claiming the Middle Eastern country had deployed a disinformation campaign to convince Americans that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he thought of Kent as a “nice guy” who was “very weak on security.”

“I didn’t know him well, but I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy. But when I read his statement I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt refuted the allegation as “insulting and laughable.” Speaking to reporters Wednesday, she attempted to distance Trump from Kent, saying he has not been involved with the president’s intelligence briefings for several months and has not been seen at the White House “for quite some time.”

“The president feels it is deeply disappointing that after the president gave him an opportunity in this administration to serve the American people that he would resign with a letter filled with falsehoods — accusing the president of the United States of being controlled by a foreign country.”

The war began late last month after the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the U.S. attack on Iran was preemptive. He said they knew Israel was going to attack Iran, which would result in Iran attacking U.S. bases and allies in the region.

The U.S. attack was intended to preempt an Iranian response, he said.

The U.S. Air Force is now reportedly dropping its newest bunker-buster bomb, the 5,000-pound class GBU-72/B, on targets in Iran. The bombs are said to have been used in strikes on hardened Iranian anti-ship cruise missile sites along the highly strategic Strait of Hormuz overnight.

There are also reports that this is the first time GBU-72/Bs have been used in combat, but it is not clear if this is the case.

“Hours ago, U.S. forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote in a post on X, which did not name the munitions in question, last night. “The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait.”

“US official confirms this was the GBU-72 Advanced 5K Penetrator,” CNN‘s Haley Britzky subsequently wrote on X. Fox News has also now reported the use of GBU-72/Bs in last night’s strikes.

Whether or not the GBU-72/B has been employed in combat previously is unclear. In 2024, CBS News reported that the Air Force had employed the bombs in strikes on an underground facility belonging to Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, citing unnamed officials. Fox News also reported again just today that the A5K’s first use had come during previous strikes on the Houthis.

There have also been reports in the past that Israel has at least sought to acquire GBU-72/B, but whether any have been delivered to that country is unknown. It is also still not known what munitions were used in strikes that left three very large and precise holes on the top of a site long linked to Iran’s nuclear program last week. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said they struck that facility, but that does not automatically mean that U.S. forces did not do so, as well.

When reached by TWZ, CENTCOM declined to comment on the specific munitions used in last night’s strikes along the Strait of Hormuz.

The GBU-72/B was developed to replace the older GBU-28/B, which first entered service in 1991. The GBU-28/B is another 5,000-pound class bunker buster, and it is unclear to what degree it remains in U.S. inventory.

What aircraft are currently cleared to employ the GBU-72/B operationally is also not clear. In 2021, the Air Force announced the successful release of an A5K from an F-15E Strike Eagle in testing. In 2024, pictures emerged of a B-1 bomber carrying one of the bombs on an external pylon under the forward fuselage in another apparent test. The Air Force has also raised the possibility of integrating the GBU-72/B onto the B-2 bomber in the past. F-15Es, B-1s, and B-2s are among the aircraft the U.S. military has been using to carry out strikes on targets in Iran.

In terms of the bomb itself, the A5K combines a BLU-138/B penetrating warhead with a tail kit containing a GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) guidance system. The tail kit is a variant of the one used on 2,000-pound class Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) precision guided bombs. Markings seen on live BLU-138/Bs in imagery the Air Force has previously released show that each warhead weighs around 4,422 pounds, with approximately 1,066.8 pounds of that being a combination of PBXN-109 and AFX-757 explosives. As an aside, those are the same two types of explosives used in the much larger 30,000-pound class BLU-127/B warhead for the GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bomb.

“With enhanced survivability, increased lethality, smart fuzing and utilization of fielded JDAM Navigation tailkits, the GBU-72 significantly improved performance reducing the number of weapons required to achieve a kill at lower AUR [all-up-round] cost,” according to Air Force budget documents. “A5K will replace the GBU-28.”

While the precise capabilities of the Air Force’s various bunker-busting munitions are a closely guarded secret, the original GBU-28/B bomb reportedly had the ability to penetrate through more than 150 feet of earth and at least 15 feet of reinforced concrete. In some cases, multiple bunker busters can also be dropped on the same aim point in succession to help burrow deeper down to the desired depth.

In addition, the GBU-72/B, like the GBU-28/B before it, offers a conventional bunker-buster capability that sits between bombs that use 2,000-pound class BLU-109/B warheads and the MOP. GBU-31/B JDAMs with BLU-109 warheads are already known to be in very active use in strikes on targets in Iran.

No shortages of GBU-31 2,000lb JDAM bunker busters at RAF Fairford. Some more pictures from yesterday. Many appeared to be loaded on or around B-52s from what I saw – with the B1-bs positioned further away from my viewing point. No idea what the Bones were loaded up with. All… pic.twitter.com/AAxlXwUZWc

— Chris Partridge (@Chris1603) March 18, 2026

With all this in mind, the GBU-72/B does offer the U.S. military a way to get after deeply buried or otherwise hardened targets in Iran (and anywhere else) that are beyond the reach of the BLU-109/B without having to use GBU-57/Bs. The MOP inventory is understood to be relatively small and largely reserved for use against very high-priority targets. Using GBU-72/Bs could also help ensure the destruction of a target, and do so with a smaller number of total munitions, compared to a strike employing 2,000-pound-class bunker busters.

Regardless of the munitions used, U.S. strikes targeting Iranian anti-ship cruise missile sites on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz speak to efforts now to reopen that critical waterway to regular maritime traffic. So far, we have not seen any clear evidence of Iran using its arsenal of thousands of anti-ship cruise missiles, which could turn the Strait into a super weapons engagement zone. Many of these missiles can also be launched from the backs of trucks that are hard to distinguish from civilian types.

Iranian aerial drone, missile, and uncrewed boat attacks, as well as the threat of naval mines, have already brought movement through the Strait to a virtual standstill. A small number of commercial vessels have continued making the transit, but very likely only with the approval of the regime in Tehran. This is already having massive negative impacts on global energy markets, as well as the overall economies of Gulf Arab States.

#Iran is permitting exit of the Gulf to select ships. But what is the rationale?

At least 5 vessels have transited outbound via the #StraitofHormuz in the past 48hrs but are taking an unusual route inside Iranian Territorial Waters.

All 5 vessels have transited the Larak Qeshm… pic.twitter.com/hOmfceYIju

— Martin Kelly (@_MartinKelly_) March 18, 2026

89 ships got through Hormuz March 1st-15th. “More than one-fifth of the 89 vessels were believed to be Iran-affiliated, while Chinese and Greece affiliated ships are among the rest, it said.” https://t.co/c7DzauV8ya

— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) March 18, 2026

The U.S. military has been exploring options for escorting convoys of commercial ships through the Strait, but this would still come with significant risks, as TWZ has explored in the past. U.S. President Donald Trump had initially appealed to allies and partners for help, but said yesterday that no assistance was necessary after receiving public rebukes from several countries.

“I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Straight?’ [sic],” Trump wrote today in a post on his Truth Social site. “That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!”

Trump: “I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Straight?’ That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!! President DJT” pic.twitter.com/pwbF1lYELS

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 18, 2026

A further uptick in strikes on Iranian targets along the Strait of Hormuz, including deeply buried and hardened sites that could necessitate the use of GBU-72/Bs, may now be on the horizon.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Iranian explosive-laden boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, after projectiles struck three vessels in Gulf waters, according to reports.

The ships targeted in late-night ⁠attacks on Wednesday in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials told the Reuters news agency.

“We recovered the body of a foreign crew member from the water,” one port security official said, as Iraqi rescue teams continued searching for other missing seafarers. It was not immediately clear which ship that person was linked to.

One Iraqi port security source said Zefyros is flagged ‌in Malta and provided Reuters with a list of crew names.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Baghdad, Iraq, Mahmoud Abdelwahed, said the tankers were loaded with crude oil from the Umm Qasr port in southern Iraq in the Basra province, and were attacked soon after their voyage got under way.

“Iraqi officials say this is a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty given the fact this act, they say, of sabotage has happened in Iraq’s territorial waters,” Abdelwahed said.

Reuters said that reports of the use of explosive-laden unmanned surface vessels, which Ukraine has used with great effect in its war with Russia, come as Iran has blocked oil shipments from transiting the key Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of ⁠the world’s oil transits but has been blocked amid the United States-Israeli war on Iran.

Reuters, citing two unnamed sources, also reported on Wednesday that Iran ‌has deployed about a dozen mines in the strait, while US President Donald Trump said US forces had struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels, amid warnings by Trump of severe repercussions should Iran lay mines in the key waterway for global shipping.

Strait of Hormuz sealed

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have warned that any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted.

The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel was struck by “two projectiles of unknown origin” while sailing through the strait earlier on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship’s Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.

“Three crew members are ⁠reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,” Precious Shipping said.

“The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three ⁠missing crew members,” it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.

Images shared by Thai news outlet Khaosod English showed what were reported to be crew members of the ship after their rescue by Oman’s navy.

The IRGC said in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency that the ship was “fired upon by Iranian fighters”, suggesting the first direct engagement by the IRGC, who have previously fired missiles or drones.

The Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty also sustained minor damage on Wednesday from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (about 46 kilometres) northwest ⁠of Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, two maritime security firms said. Its Japanese owner Mitsui OSK Lines and a spokesperson for Ocean Network Express, its charterer, said the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf, and an inspection of the hull revealed minor damage above the waterline.

All crew are safe, they said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.

A third vessel, a bulk ‌carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 nautical miles (about 93km) northwest of Dubai, maritime security firms said.

The projectile had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel’s crew were safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area while it was anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listing.

The US Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry ⁠for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.