Shmarya

Cheers, celebrations heard on Tehran streets after reports of Khamenei death: witnesses * * *

Witnesses say that loud cheers echoed across parts of Tehran and residents took to their windows to applaud and play celebratory music after reports of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death in Israeli bombing.
www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ent...

American troops captured footage of an Iranian ballistic missile striking the ground alarmingly close to their location. The Patriot air defense system at Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar was unable to intercept the Iranian projectile.

💥Two unnamed Israeli officials have confirmed to CNN that Iran's Ayatollah is dead.

NEW: Bahrain skyscrapers and Dubai hotels are now being hit by Iranian drones.

This is insane. Trump has unleashed chaos and carnage.

(🎥 Al Jazeera)

Bellingcat is monitoring the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. We've verified several videos of explosions in Jordan, UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

You can help us monitor and stay informed in our Discord server.

Link to the server in the Bellingcat thread here ⬇️

Trump Has No Plan for the Iranian People The mere act of bombing Iran will not by itself create a stable regime.

The American bombardment of Iran has been launched without explanation, without Congress, without public support. Above all it has been launched without a coherent strategy for the Iranian people, and without a plan to let them build a legitimate Iranian state.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Eyal Zamir: Israel, US spent months planning for Iran strike | The Jerusalem Post IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir confirmed that Israel and the US intend to “destroy capabilities” of the Iranian regime.

Israel, US spent months planning for Iran strike, IDF chief says

www.jpost.com/israel-news/...

Ali Khamenei cut off from contact as Israel, US strike Iran | The Jerusalem Post Preliminary assessment: Supreme leader likely hurt in Israeli strike • Netanyahu says objective to end Ayatollah's regime • Trump confirms US operation in Iran, tells IRGC to lay down arms

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been cut off from contact, and there is no certainty about his fate, Israeli officials reportedly said. The preliminary assessment among Israeli officials was that Khamenei was hurt in the strike.

www.jpost.com/israel-news/...

More than one thing can be be true at the same time. Iran isn't the hill you want to die (so to speak) on.

Israel, US expect attacks against Iran to last several days | The Jerusalem Post The officials also said that the strike at a US Navy base in Bahrain left no injuries, with the Iranian missile only hitting an empty building.

Israel, US preparing for 'at least a week' of joint strikes on Iran, officials say

The officials also said that the strike at a US Navy base in Bahrain left no injuries, with the Iranian missile only hitting an empty building. 

www.jpost.com/israel-news/...

Clarence Thomas Just Struck Another Blow to Black Power In his majority ruling in a sleeper case about mail delivery, Thomas opened the door to a new way for Republicans to suppress the Black vote.

In an overlooked decision this week, the Supreme Court ruled that the post office can refuse to deliver your mail, which is KIND OF SIGNIFICANT if you choose to mail your ballot.
To do this work, the anti-democracy wing turned to their favorite “black friend,” Clarence Thomas.

It's good to know what Trump (via advisors) and Netanyahu may have been thinking

US and Israel launch major joint assault on Iran; Trump indicates goal is to topple regime Strikes target Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Pezeshkian, Israeli official says; blasts heard throughout Islamic Republic; US president tells Iranian people: 'The hour of your freedom is at han...

Strikes target Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Pezeshkian, Israeli official says; US president tells Iranian people: ‘The hour of your freedom is at hand’

www.timesofisrael.com/us-and-israe...

The Minnesota Fraud Scandal and the Fallout, Explained

A recent assessment by federal prosecutors suggested that since 2018, more than half of the $18 billion in taxpayer funds spent on 14 state programs in Minnesota was most likely stolen.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/u...

Update: Trump announces end of business with Anthropic, unclear if they are going to invoke supply chain risk designation.

Calls it a “radical left, woke company” after it rejects demands for AI usage in mass American surveillance and autonomous killing drones.

Wild timeline.

911 calls capture kids burning with fever, struggling to breathe at ICE detention center EMS crews were called to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas at least 11 times since September for children in medical distress, records show.

On the calls, staff request ambulances for children struggling to breathe, burning with fever or appearing lethargic—emergencies inside a detention center lawyers, immigration advocates and pediatricians have warned is not suitable for children.

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

High Court tells state to advance Western Wall egalitarian plaza upgrade, without further delays Chief rabbis claim justices overstepped their authority with ruling, while Shas leader Aryeh Deri accuses them of trying to 'desecrate' Western Wall

Israel's High Court of Justice on Thursday ordered the Netanyahu government to move forward with the upgrade of the Western Wall egalitarian plaza, in a ruling that drew fiery denunciations from both Israel's haredi chief rabbis and haredi politicians.

www.timesofisrael.com/high-court-t...

What’s Next for US Healthcare? Ask Oklahoma. As Trump continues to dismantle federal agencies, this state shows what happens when a one-party-controlled government makes sweeping public health changes with little resistance.

In 2025, Oklahoma’s health care system was ranked 49th—nearly the worst in the country—by the Commonwealth Fund. Now, President Trump and his administration are attempting something similar on a national scale.
https://bit.ly/4kIeSAV

DHS Opens a Billion-Dollar Tab With Palantir "If you are interested in helping shape and deliver the next chapter of Palantir’s work across DHS, please reach out,” a Palantir executive wrote to employees about the massive purchasing agreement.

SCOOP: DHS strikes $1 billion purchasing agreement with Palantir.

The news comes as Palantir leadership struggles to address internal tensions over the company's work with immigration enforcers.

Here's how it was announced internally:
www.wired.com/story/depart...

Inside voice: what can our thoughts reveal about the nature of consciousness? The long read: Scientists and philosophers studying the mind have discovered how little we know about our inner experiences

www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Grok Exposed a Porn Performer’s Legal Name and Birthdate—Without Even Being Asked In the latest in a string of privacy abuses from the chatbot, Grok provided porn performer Siri Dahl's full legal name and birthdate to the public, information she'd protected until now.

“Now that it's been crawled, it's everywhere. There are a ton of Facebook accounts that come up that are pretending to be me, using my real name,” @siridahl.com told us. “There are now porn leak sites that are posting porn of me using only my legal name, not even putting my stage name on it.”

Grok Exposed a Porn Performer’s Legal Name and Birthdate—Without Even Being Asked In the latest in a string of privacy abuses from the chatbot, Grok provided porn performer Siri Dahl's full legal name and birthdate to the public, information she'd protected until now.

In the latest in a string of privacy abuses from the chatbot, Grok provided porn performer Siri Dahl's full legal name and birthdate to the public, information she'd protected until now.

This story is nauseating. This little boy may never walk again & who knows what other health problems he'll have all because his parents believed the vaccine lies told by Trump, RFK jr and others. Shameful.

And the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body will have nothing to say about it. 🤡

Third American death linked to ice uncovered by Newsweek While the 23-year-old's death was reported in March 2025, it was not made clear that a federal agent fired the fatal shot.

Lots of sketchy details here that don't make much sense. (Not clear this was immigration-related. Happened at scene of a separate accident.)

But the Newsweek report does suggest another case where a federal officer put himself in front of a car, then opened fire as the driver tried to flee.

Trump officials plan to build 5,000-person military base in Gaza, files show Exclusive: approximately 350-acre compound planned as base for multinational force, according to records reviewed by the Guardian

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The US is dragging Europe back to the days of white supremacism. Our leaders are playing along | Shada Islam People like me were targets of the Islamophobia that gripped the west after the US-led ‘war on terror’. Now I fear a chilling sequel is on the way, says Shada Islam, a Brussels-based commentator on EU...

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Shipwrecks, Sham Papers and False Flags: Tracking the Company Behind It All - bellingcat A shipwreck in India, an ammunition seizure in Senegal, and a raid on an oil tanker in Malaysia - all involving one recurring figure: Captain Suniel Sharma.

A shipwreck in India, an ammunition seizure in Senegal, and a raid on an oil tanker in Malaysia. These and many more incidents point to ageing vessels that operate with false papers and one recurring figure: Captain Suniel Kumar Sharma. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/02...

All the other countries have consequences for criminals, pedophiles, and insurrectionists. But not here.

We could have nice things, too, if we just stood by our founding principles.