News Roundup for March 27, 2026
[Watch] Iran Could Force Trump to Break First Due To Oil Prices | Ilan Goldenberg, The Times
Trump will ‘break first’ as it becomes more and more difficult for the US to win, says director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, Ilan Goldenberg.
As Trump Feels Pressure to End War, Allies Fear What Iran May Do Next, Washington Post
“So far, the gap between the two sides remains vast, said Ilan Goldenberg, who advised the Biden White House on Middle East policy. ‘The American position was essentially Iranian surrender, and the Iranian response was essentially American surrender,’ he said. ‘The American position was, ‘Get rid of your nuclear program, missiles and proxies,’ and the Iranian position was, ‘Compensate us for our losses, and get out of the Middle East.’”
Building Bridges With the Lebanese Government Instead of Blowing Them Up, Times of Israel
Executive Director of J Street Israel Nadav Tamir writes, “The Lebanese leadership, led by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, wants to and can today, more than ever before, cooperate in defeating Hezbollah. But when Israel focuses on civilian targets instead of Hezbollah’s infrastructure, it only makes it harder for the new leaders in Beirut and forces them to stand against Israel instead of being the ones leading the fight against Hezbollah.”
How Does TrackAIPAC Actually Track AIPAC?, The Intercept
“When TrackAIPAC posted a red graphic for Biss, the group pointed to his refusal to call Israel’s actions a genocide, his opposition to the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, his support for U.S. funding for Israel’s Iron Dome, and $460,357 ‘spent by the pro-Israel lobby groups and their donors.’ […] Tali deGroot, J Street’s vice president of political and digital strategy, was frustrated by her group’s conflation with AIPAC, calling TrackAIPAC ‘intellectually dishonest’ for the distance between its name and its methodology.”
Pentagon Weighs Sending Another 10,000 Ground Troops to the Middle East, Wall Street Journal
“The force, which would likely include infantry and armored vehicles, would be added to the roughly 5,000 Marines and the thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division who have already been ordered to the region.”
Hezbollah Unleashes Over 600 Attacks on Israel in Past 24 Hours, Doubling Prior Peak, Jerusalem Post
“Hezbollah has fired over 600 times on Israel and IDF troops in the last 24 hours, around double its prior high of around 300 aerial threats during the 2023-2024 conflict between the sides, IDF sources have confirmed.”
U.S. Can Only Confirm About Third of Iran’s Missile Arsenal Destroyed, Sources Say, Haaretz
“The United States can only determine with certainty that it has destroyed about a third of Iran’s vast missile arsenal as the U.S. and Israeli war on the country nears its one-month mark, according to five people familiar with the U.S. intelligence. The status of around another third is less clear but bombings likely damaged, destroyed or buried those missiles in underground tunnels and bunkers, four of the sources said.”
Zamir Said to Warn Cabinet That IDF Will ‘Collapse in on Itself’ Amid Manpower Shortage, Times of Israel
“Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, who was also at the cabinet meeting, said the government’s policies in the West Bank are placing a growing strain on the IDF’s already stretched manpower, Channel 12 reported. Bluth reportedly told ministers that over the past year, they approved the establishment of numerous settlements in the Jordan Valley and across the West Bank — developments that require increased security coverage.”
Palestinian Man Shot Dead, 14 Wounded in West Bank Settler Raids as Five New Outposts Established in One Night, Haaretz
“A Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem was killed and 14 Palestinians were wounded in three separate settler attacks that occurred on Thursday following the establishment of five new outposts in the West Bank, four of them in Area A, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.”
Netanyahu Claims That Victory Over Iran Would Bring Peace to Israel. He Should Look Closer to Home, The Guardian
“The Palestinian issue will not go away. Until Israelis see through the convenient perspective that toppling Iran’s regime will solve all of its problems, and refocus on addressing actual Palestinian claims to self-determination through diplomacy, no stunning outcome in Iran will give Israel the peace it claims to want.”
