Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said Sunday that members of his own party should support U.S. military strikes against Iran if they believe Tehran must be prevented from developing nuclear weapons, citing comments made by Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign as he continued to distance himself from the Democratic Party’s stance on the issue.
Speaking during an interview with John Catsimatidis on WABC radio, Fetterman said he stood alone among Senate Democrats in backing the operation known as Epic Fury. “I became the only Democrat, certainly in the Senate, to support the mission of Epic Fury,” he said, urging fellow Democrats to acknowledge what he described as a successful effort that damaged Iran’s nuclear program.
Fetterman pointed to remarks Harris made while running for president in 2024, when she described Iran as the United States’ most significant foreign adversary. “When Kamala Harris ran for president … she identified Iran as her top international concern,” Fetterman said. “And now, here we have a situation where the Trump administration through Epic Fury has effectively broken the Iranian nuclear apparatus. Why can’t we agree that that’s a good thing for international security?”
Harris had made that assessment during a 2024 interview on “60 Minutes,” where she said Iran was the United States’ “greatest adversary.”
Fetterman also suggested that even if the military campaign leads to higher energy prices, the strategic benefit of weakening Iran’s nuclear program would outweigh the economic costs.
“If the administration creates the kind of outcome that we all agree and wanted … why can’t we support that?” he said.
During the same interview, Fetterman criticized Democrats over the ongoing dispute surrounding funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
“The Coast Guard people … and the TSA agents … they all deserve to be paid,” he said. “This shutdown has had zero impact on ICE. So, why should we punish all of these workers … who are keeping our nation more secure?”
According to CBS News, nearly every Senate Democrat voted against advancing a DHS funding measure on Feb. 13, with Fetterman standing as the only member of the party to oppose the shutdown effort.
“I [was] the only Democrat to vote against that DHS shutdown,” he told Catsimatidis.
Reports from The Associated Press said Democrats were willing to approve funding for much of the department but were seeking changes to the operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Reuters reported that the impasse continued as of March 12, contributing to longer security screening lines at airports as TSA agents went unpaid.
Fetterman framed the standoff as a departure from the party’s traditional support for workers.
“Don’t shut the government down. We used to be the party that refused to do these things,” he said. “I thought we are the party of union workers.”
“[Now] we are constantly voting to prevent them from being paid for their work,” he added.
{Matzav.com}
The International Energy Agency announced Sunday that emergency oil reserves held by its member countries will soon begin entering global markets, with governments committing to release a total of 411.9 million barrels in an effort to ease supply pressures.
In a statement, the agency said participating nations have agreed to provide 271.7 million barrels from government-controlled reserves. An additional 116.6 million barrels will come from industry stocks that companies are required to maintain, while another 23.6 million barrels will be supplied from other sources.
According to the IEA, the majority of the planned release will consist of crude oil, accounting for 72 percent of the total, while the remaining 28 percent will be refined petroleum products.
The agency said supplies from member countries in the Asia-Oceania region will become available immediately, while oil held in Europe and the Americas is scheduled to reach markets beginning at the end of March.
{Matzav.com}
Iranian authorities have detained dozens of individuals suspected of providing Israel with sensitive information, according to local reports published Sunday, as Israeli and U.S. airstrikes continue targeting sites across the country.
In Iran’s northwest, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that prosecutors ordered the arrest of 20 people accused of transmitting the locations of military and security installations to Israel.
Separately, Tasnim reported that authorities in northeastern Iran detained 10 individuals on Sunday. Some of those taken into custody are suspected of gathering intelligence on sensitive facilities and key economic infrastructure.
“As the Zionist enemy (Israel) and the U.S. are attempting to invade Iran, they simultaneously activate mercenaries and spies to carry out riots as the next step,” a provincial branch of the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence organization said, according to Tasnim.
Additional arrests were reported in western Iran. The Student News Network said three people were detained in Lorestan province for “seeking to disturb public opinion (…) and burn mourning symbols.”
According to a source familiar with Israel’s military planning, Israeli forces have recently begun striking security checkpoints and other targets based on information supplied by informants operating inside Iran, marking a new stage in Israel’s campaign.
The arrests come amid continuing internal tensions in Iran. In January, just weeks before the United States and Israel launched their current military campaign against the country, large anti-government demonstrations erupted across Iran.
Those protests were suppressed in what became the deadliest crackdown in the history of the Islamic Republic.
Iranian officials accused both Israel and the United States of instigating the unrest, alleging that the demonstrations were “violent riots” intended to topple the country’s clerical leadership.
{Matzav.com}No country publicly agreed on Sunday to send naval forces to help secure the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump urged major powers to deploy warships to keep the crucial waterway “open and safe” amid soaring oil prices linked to the ongoing war with Iran.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Washington has been communicating with several nations about the issue but did not identify which governments were involved. Speaking to NBC, Wright said he expects China to play a positive role in reopening the shipping lane through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil exports typically move.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, also spoke to NBC and said Tehran has already been contacted by several governments seeking safe passage for their ships. “Iran has been ‘approached by a number of countries’ seeking safe passage for their vessels,” he said, adding that “this is up to our military to decide.” Araghchi noted that a group of vessels from “different countries” had already been allowed to transit the waterway, though he did not offer additional details.
Iran has maintained that the strait remains open to most nations but not to the United States or countries aligned with it.
Araghchi also dismissed the idea of negotiations with Washington to bring the war to a close. “We don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans” about ending the conflict, he said, arguing that the fighting began when Israel and the United States launched coordinated attacks on Feb. 28 during indirect U.S.-Iran discussions. Those talks had been centered on Iran’s nuclear program, and Araghchi added that Tehran had “no plan to recover” enriched uranium buried beneath rubble after U.S. and Israeli strikes last year.
British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said Western governments are exploring options to reopen the strait but acknowledged that the conflict itself remains the central obstacle. “We are intensively looking with our allies at what can be done, because it’s so important that we get the strait reopened,” Miliband told Sky News, adding that ending the war is the “best and surest” way to do it.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry responded cautiously to Trump’s request, saying it is monitoring the situation closely and coordinating with Washington. Officials said Seoul “takes note” of Trump’s call and that it “will closely coordinate and carefully review” the situation with the U.S.
Attention has also turned to Japan, where there is speculation that Trump may request naval assistance during an upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House later this week.
China did not immediately respond publicly to the call for assistance.
France has previously indicated it is discussing a possible multinational escort mission for commercial vessels passing through the strait. President Emmanuel Macron said the effort could involve partners in Europe, India, and other Asian countries, though French officials stressed that such an operation could only proceed when “the circumstances permit,” meaning once the fighting has subsided.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency announced Sunday that emergency oil reserves will soon begin entering global markets in an effort to stabilize prices. The organization described the coordinated release of reserves as the largest ever undertaken.
The agency updated an earlier figure of 400 million barrels to nearly 412 million barrels. Asian member states are expected to release supplies immediately, while stockpiles held in Europe and the Americas are scheduled to begin reaching markets at the end of March.
At the same time, tensions across the Persian Gulf escalated as several Arab countries reported new missile and drone attacks. The strikes came a day after Iran warned residents to evacuate three major ports in the United Arab Emirates, marking the first time Tehran has directly threatened non-U.S. assets in a neighboring state. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE said their air defense systems were working to intercept incoming projectiles.
Iran also accused the United States of launching Friday’s strike on Kharg Island — home to the country’s primary oil export terminal — from bases in the UAE, though it provided no evidence.
U.S. Central Command declined to comment on the allegation. Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, rejected the claim, and Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases reiterated that they have not allowed their territory or airspace to be used in attacks on Iran.
Iran’s joint military command warned that it could retaliate against what it described as U.S.-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” throughout the region if its own oil facilities continue to come under attack.
Since the war began, Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman. While many have been intercepted, the attacks have caused damage and unsettled regional economies. Tehran insists the strikes target American assets, although impacts have also been reported at civilian locations including airports and oil installations.
The war has already taken a heavy toll across the region. Iranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf countries, most of them migrant workers.
Inside Iran, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported that more than 1,300 people have been killed. Iran’s Health Ministry said the casualties include 223 women and 202 children, according to Mizan, the judiciary’s official news agency.
In Israel, Iranian missile attacks have killed 12 people and wounded others, including three who were injured on Sunday. The conflict has also claimed the lives of at least 13 U.S. military personnel, including six who died in a plane crash in Iraq last week.
Lebanon has also suffered heavy casualties since the conflict expanded there. The country’s Health Ministry said at least 820 people have been killed since Iran-backed Hezbollah began launching attacks on Israel and Israel responded with airstrikes and additional troop deployments in southern Lebanon.
The fighting has also triggered a massive humanitarian crisis. Within just 10 days, more than 800,000 people — nearly one in seven residents of Lebanon — have been displaced, barely a year after a previous conflict forced over a million Lebanese from their homes.
In Beirut, displaced families were seen repairing tents battered by rain and wind. Fadi Younes, who fled the southern suburbs, said his living conditions had become extremely difficult after his bedding was soaked by the weather.
“We don’t know where this will end,” he said.
In the southern suburb of Haret Hreik, cleanup crews worked to remove rubble from largely deserted streets.
“The important thing is that the roads remain open for hospitals and for people,” excavator driver Hachem Fadlallah said.
Israel said its forces continued striking targets in Iran, while Iranian missiles continued to be launched toward Israel, sending residents rushing into shelters as warning sirens sounded.
Several of the strikes landed in central Israel and the Tel Aviv region, damaging 23 locations and igniting a small fire. Israel’s emergency service, Magen David Adom, released footage showing a large crater in a street and shrapnel damage to a nearby apartment building.
Multiple simultaneous impact sites have become increasingly common in the war, with Israel’s military saying Iran has begun using cluster munitions designed to evade certain air defense systems and disperse explosive fragments across wide areas.
{Matzav.com}
Andy Thomson has officially been declared the winner of the Boca Raton mayoral election after both machine and manual recounts confirmed the results of the closely contested race.
The final tally showed Thomson prevailing by an extremely narrow margin of just five votes.
Election officials conducted the recount in the Boca Raton mayoral contest on Friday.
According to the updated results, Thomson edged out challenger Mike Liebelson after the manual review of ballots. The final count showed Thomson receiving 7,572 votes, while Liebelson finished with 7,567. A third candidate, Fran Nachlas, placed far behind with 3,967 votes.
In a separate contest in Lake Worth Beach, voters narrowly rejected a ballot measure known as Question 5. The referendum failed by only two votes, with 1,640 residents voting against it and 1,638 supporting it.
Question 5 asked Lake Worth Beach citizens: Since the City no longer operates its own police or fire departments, should the section of the City Charter that refers to those departments be removed to avoid confusion?
Meanwhile, in the race for a seat on the South Beach Town Council, five candidates competed for the position. Francesca Atardi led the field in the machine count with 262 votes, with Adrian Brucet and Sandra Beckett trailing behind.
Election officials said that differences between the machine totals and the manual recount were caused by overvotes and undervotes, which slightly altered the numbers but did not change the overall results.
{Matzav.com}
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday that the brother of the man who carried out a vehicle attack at a Jewish preschool in Michigan held a senior position in Hezbollah as a weapons commander.
Ayman Muhammad Ghazali, 41, was killed Thursday after ramming a vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
According to a statement released by the IDF on Sunday morning, Ghazali’s brother, Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali, oversaw weapons operations within a specialized division of Hezbollah’s Badr Unit.
The Israeli military said this branch of the Lebanese terror organization was responsible for firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli civilians during the recent conflict with Iran.
Just days before the Michigan attack, several members of Ghazali’s family were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon. A local official told the Associated Press on Friday that two of Ghazali’s brothers, along with a niece and a nephew, died in the March 5 strike in the town of Mashgharah.
The relatives were reportedly gathered for their evening meal marking the end of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when the strike occurred.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Ghazali entered the United States in 2011 after marrying an American citizen and later obtained U.S. citizenship during President Obama’s administration in 2016.
On Thursday, Ghazali drove approximately 38 miles from his home in Dearborn Heights, a Detroit suburb with a large Muslim population, to Temple Israel — one of the largest Reform synagogues in the United States. The complex includes a synagogue building as well as a school and early childhood center.
After crashing his vehicle, which investigators said contained fireworks and containers of gasoline, Ghazali exchanged gunfire with an armed security guard. Authorities said he eventually died after fatally shooting himself when the burning vehicle trapped him inside.
All 140 children, teachers, and staff members inside the synagogue complex escaped unharmed, a result credited to the swift actions of the synagogue’s security personnel.
“If they had not all done their jobs almost perfectly, we would be talking about an immense tragedy here with children gone,” US Sen. Elissa Slotkin (Dem., M-17) told a news conference Friday.
In Dearborn Heights, a mosque hosted a memorial service last weekend for Ghazali’s relatives who were killed in Lebanon.
The mosque’s imam, Hassan Qazwini, said he had encountered Ghazali only once and condemned the attack on the synagogue.
“Islam forbids holding innocent people accountable for acts done by others,” Qazwini told AP.
“The unjustified Israeli attack on civilians in Iran and Lebanon gives no blank check to anyone attacking synagogues, civilians and peaceful communities,” he said.
{Matzav.com}Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu responded Sunday to a wave of online rumors and conspiracy theories circulating on social media that falsely claimed he had died and that a recent video appearance of him was generated using artificial intelligence.
The speculation spread rapidly after internet users shared a still image from a video of Netanyahu, arguing that one of his hands appeared distorted and appeared to show six fingers — a mistake often associated with AI-generated images and video.
WATCH:
אומרים שאני מה? צפו >> pic.twitter.com/ijHPkM3ZHZ
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 15, 2026
During a conversation in which he was asked directly about the claims, Netanyahu was told: “On the internet they’re saying you’re dead.” The Prime Minister answered humourously, using the term “dead” as the Israeli slang for in-love: “I’m dead for coffee, for my people. They behave fantastically.”
Netanyahu also addressed the allegation in a playful manner by raising his hands toward the camera and joking, “Want to count my fingers?” — a sarcastic reference to the supposed evidence cited in the viral conspiracy theories.
{Matzav.com}
