//The Wire//2300Z March 19, 2026//
 //ROUTINE//
 //BLUF: WAR IN MIDDLE EAST CONTINUES TO ESCALATE DAILY, AS IRANIAN TARGETING INCREASES IN SCOPE AND EFFECTIVENESS. GCC STATES VOICE GROWING CONCERNS REGARDING ATTACKS ON OIL AND GAS INFRASTRUCTURE. PENTAGON REQUESTS $200 BILLION BUDGET INCREASE TO CONTINUE WAR.//

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 -International Events-

Middle East: Iranian targeting efforts have continued to become more effective over the past few days. Drone and missile attacks have been increasing since the war began, with strikes being reported at most US military installations around the region daily. Oil infrastructure has also been targeted in GCC states that have been allowing American forces to launch HIMARS missiles at Iran.

Iran: Within the mainland, satellite imagery from yesterday confirmed that Israeli/American forces struck a target at the Iranian Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. Imagery provided by Airbus indicates at least one impact crater roughly 350 meters from the Bushehr 1 Reactor. Shortly after the attack, Kuwaiti state media broadcast an announcement from the Kuwaiti National Guard stating that radiation levels after the strike were reported to be normal. The Qataris made similar announcements of normal radiation readings this afternoon.

Israel: Within Israel, Iranian targeting remains constant as well, with drone and missile attacks being reported regularly throughout the nation. Yesterday Ben Gurion Airport was hit, with several aircraft burning on the tarmac. The port of Haifa has been hit continually since the war began, and over the past few days more footage has made it to social media depicting the damage, as another substantial missile strike took place last night.

Analyst Comment: Continuing long-standing national defense policy, it is nearly impossible to determine where strikes are happening within Israel, as this information is tightly controlled by the Israeli government. Livestreaming cameras and traffic cams have been destroyed by the military throughout most of the country, so the intelligence gap of how bad things are in Tel Aviv is quite substantial at this point.

Saudi Arabia: Last night, an Iranian strike was reported at the Samarra Oil Refinery complex in Yanbu, on the Red Sea coast. This strike resulted in unknown damage, but the fires started by the strike were detected via satellite.

-HomeFront-

Delaware - Yesterday evening President Trump attended the dignified transfer of the airmen killed in the crash of the KC-135 in western Iraq. No media was allowed to cover the event, with the White House photographer only providing a few images of the transfer.

Analyst Comment: This is not the first time that media have been blocked from such an event; Dick Cheney instituted this as a blanket policy in 1991, and this became more heavily enforced starting in approximately 2003-2009, during the height of the GWOT. It is unclear as to if the White House will be re-instituting this policy, or if this was a one-time ban.

Washington D.C. - This morning the Pentagon requested the approval of a $200 billion defense package to supplement the War Department's budget, for the continuation of the war in the Middle East.

Analyst Comment: For perspective on how much money this is, as of right now, the United States taxpayer has sent a grand total of $175 billion in military aid to Ukraine, since the start of that war in 2022. As a result, the Pentagon casually requesting a check from the taxpayer greater than that which has been spent to date in Ukraine is going to be a hard pill to swallow.

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Analyst Comments: The strike on the oil refinery in Saudi Arabia is not like the others, and this specific refinery was probably targeted for two reasons. For one, this is the facility that is the end-of-the-line for the Saudi East-West Pipeline that is helping to alle