Around 2,200 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit have been ordered to deploy to the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, according to ABC News. They will deploy alongside the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group, which includes the USS Tripoli (LHA-7), USS San Diego (LPD-22), and USS New Orleans (LPD-18), supported by roughly 20 F-35B Lightning II aircraft. The USS Tripoli and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit are forward-based in Sasebo and Okinawa, Japan.

Reporter: “Are the Ukrainians helping us with drone defense?” Donald Trump: “We don’t need their help with drone defense. We know more about drones than anybody. We actually have the best drones in the world.”

Operators from Ukrainian Armed Forces reportedly destroyed four rare Merlin reconnaissance drone aircraft, a Buk-M1 air-defense system, and a Nebo radar on Friday the 13th. Between March 1–13, Ukrainian strike drones are said to have eliminated 21 Russian air-defense assets, with additional Merlin-VR reconnaissance UAVs destroyed near Huliaipole.

Zohran Mamdani acknowledged the growing exodus from New York City, but said higher earners should contribute more to keep the city affordable. “Even in the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in history, we’re already seeing working- and middle-class New Yorkers leave. That’s why I have no hesitation asking those who earn the most or generate the largest profits to pay a little more so everyone can continue to live here. It’s not only about fairness or allowing working-class people to stay — it’s also about ensuring companies can continue attracting top talent to this city.”

Footage of an American airstrike on an Iranian Air Force Su-22 tactical bomber while it was inside its hardened aircraft shelter at the 4th Fighter Base in Dezful.

U.S. President Donald Trump on when will the Iran war end: "When I feel it. When I feel it in my bones."

Trump on the attacks in Virginia and Michigan: “It’s a disgrace. They’re really demented people… they came in through other presidents, frankly, and it’s a disgrace.”

The Pentagon is moving a Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East, as Iran steps up its attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, according to two officials who spoke to the Wall Street Journal. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved a request from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) for an Expeditionary Unit, typically consisting of up to 2,500 Marines, to be deployed near Iran, with the Marines believed to be coming from Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) in Twentynine Palms, California.

Reports of a drone interception this morning over Downtown Dubai, UAE, close to the site of the tallest building in the world and centerpiece for the city, the Burj Khalifa.

Donald Trump on Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new Supreme Leader: “I think he’s damaged, but he’s probably alive in some form. They’ve been doing a lot of talking, so he’s going to have to put up. We’ll see what happens, because we are decimating them.” 

Crazy footage from yesterday in the Nineveh Governorate of Northern Iraq, close to the Kurdish-majority city of Erbil, showing an American Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS), a copycat of the Iranian Shahed-136, striking a building utilized by Iraq’s Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

Pete Hegseth on the Strait of Hormuz: “The only thing preventing transit right now is Iran shooting at shipping. It is open for transit if Iran stops doing that.”

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth states during the morning’s press conference that Iran no longer had the ability to make additional ballistic missiles, while stating that soon all defense manufacturers will be targeted and destroyed throughout Iran.

New wave of joint U.S.-Israeli strikes now reportedly underway in Iran.

Iran has now launched 44 waves of strikes against Israel and their Gulf neighbors, according to Iranian state TV outlets.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is still alive “in some form,” despite not being seen publicly since taking office after the war in Iran began. - FOX

After Iran’s newest waves of drone and ballistic missile strikes against Israel, up to 30 people have now been reported injured following an impact in Zarzir, Israel.

Brian Kilmeade asked Donald Trump what message he had for Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new Supreme Leader. Trump responded that Iran has been “doing a lot of talking” and said its leadership will now have to prove itself as the conflict intensifies. He added that U.S. forces have already destroyed much of Iran’s missile stockpile, numerous drones, and several facilities involved in missile and drone production. “We’re hitting them harder than anybody has been hit since World War II,” Trump said.

According to CNN, officials with the United States Department of Defense and the United States National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. military strikes while planning the current large-scale campaign against Iran. Sources familiar with the matter said that senior officials in the Trump administration acknowledged during recent classified briefings with lawmakers that the possibility of Iran shutting down the strait was not fully planned for. Officials reportedly believed that blocking the crucial shipping lane would damage Iran’s economy more than it would hurt the United States, leading them to assume Tehran would avoid such a move.

Reports of an Iranian ballistic missile attack targeting Incirlik, Turkey, tonight, as Iran continues to attempt to strike the sprawling airbase in the NATO member state.