National Security

**Livewire** Operation Epic Fury Day Nine: The Latest News From Iran and the Middle East

The military operation against Iran entered its ninth day on Sunday. Reports have indicated that cracks are emerging in the remnants of the Iranian leadership structure as it scrambles to replace slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid continued waves of strikes from the United States and Israel, some of which left the Iranian capital of Tehran shrouded in thick black smoke.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MARCH 07: A large plume of smoke rises over Tehran after explosions were re

Indonesia and India Join Movement to Ban Social Media for Children

Indonesian Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said in a video statement on Friday that her government will “delay access” to social media for children under 16, following in the footsteps of Australia’s unprecedented ban on accounts for young people. On the same day, India’s southern tech-heavy state of Karnataka announced a similar ban. 

children phone

China Adjusts GDP Projections Down After Iran War

China’s big “Two Sessions” annual meeting of its rubber-stamp legislature produced a report on Friday that revised GDP growth projections down to a “range” of 4.5 to 5 percent, a significant downgrade from the 4.9 to 5 percent projection for 2025.

BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 5: Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and Premier Li Qiang speak afte

U.S. Hits Iran with Improved Copies of Its Own Suicide Drones

The U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran this weekend featured the operational debut of LUCAS, the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, a “suicide drone” modeled on Iran’s notorious Shahed series of drone bombs. LUCAS is a remarkable example of American ingenuity: a vastly improved copy of Iran’s only serious technological innovation since the Islamic Revolution, taken from product rollout to battlefield deployment in just eight months.

Iranian-made Shahed-136 'Kamikaze' drone flies over the sky of Kermanshah, Iran