Exclusive: Saudi Arabia prepping 'huge deal' for Ukrainian weapons amid Iranian drone threat

3/10/26

A Saudi Arabian arms company has signed a deal to buy Ukrainian-made interceptor missiles, the Kyiv Independent has learned, with one source within Ukraine's defense industry saying that Riyadh and Kyiv are negotiating a separate "huge deal" for arms that could be finalized this week.

Iran’s recent air attacks across neighboring Gulf States amid the U.S. and Israel-led war against Tehran have kicked off a scramble for military equipment to combat ballistic missiles and Shahed attack drones.

While cost-effective against expensive missiles, air defense interceptors like the U.S.-made Patriot cost millions of dollars — making them an unsustainable way to shoot down cheap drones built en masse for tens of thousands of dollars a piece.

Two sources within Ukraine's defense industry who asked to remain anonymous to discuss non-public negotiations told the Kyiv Independent that major contracts were up for discussion between the governments of Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.

One of the sources told the Kyiv Independent to expect a "huge deal" between Saudi Arabia and Ukraine as soon as March 11.

The other told the Kyiv Independent that a contract for Ukrainian-made air defense missiles had just been signed, with a Saudi arms maker acting as a local intermediary.

The Kyiv Independent has contacted the Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Saudi Embassy in Kyiv, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Iran has unleashed swarms of its Shahed drones across its Arab Gulf neighbors following U.S. and Israeli attacks starting at the end of February. Israel's air defense relies heavily on its Iron Dome, while Gulf nations depend on Korean-made Cheongung-II batteries, and most famously, U.S. THAAD and Patriot surface-to-air missiles.

Ammunition for such air-defense systems is much more expensive than the Shahed drones that they are now tasked with shooting down. Ukrainians are eager both to pitch the value of their low-cost interceptor drones and stop the depletion of PAC-3 missile stocks worldwide.

"Ukraine has never had this many missiles to repel attacks. More than 800 have been used over the past three days alone," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a March 5 press briefing.

https://kyivindependent.com/exclusive-saudi-arabia-prepping-huge-deal-for-ukrainian-weapons-amid-iran-threat/

Iran International English

@IranIntl_En

“I will spill the blood of Zionists to avenge the blood of my leader, Seyyed Ali,” a missile operator is heard shouting as he launches a ballistic missile toward Israel.

Iran’s IRGC said on Tuesday it fired Emad, Qadr, Kheybarshekan and Fattah missiles in its latest barrage.

https://x.com/IranIntl_En/status/2031400429989310660?s=20

Iran International English

@IranIntl_En

Iran's army air force says it launched suicide drone attacks targeting fuel tanks in Haifa, Israel, in response to recent attacks on Iranian oil depots.

https://x.com/IranIntl_En/status/2031378193484050526?s=20

Iran says the four men killed in Israeli strike in Beirut were diplomats

57 minutes ago

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Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations says the four Iranians killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Sunday were diplomats, after the Israeli military identified them as senior IRGC Quds Force agents.

The four men were killed in an Israeli attack on the Ramada Hotel in Beirut in the early hours of Sunday.

In a letter addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the president of the Security Council, Iran’s UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said the four men were diplomats, identifying them as Majid Hassani Kandsar, a second secretary; Alireza Bi-Azar, a third secretary; Hossein Ahmadlou, an attaché; and Ahmad Rasouli, an envoy.

Israeli sources, however, had identified the dead as Majid Hosseini, the financial officer of the Lebanon branch of the Quds Force; Ali Biazaar, its intelligence officer; Hossein Ahmadlou, head of what they described as the branch’s “Zionist file”; and Ahmad Rasouli, head of the Intelligence Department in the Palestine Corps.

The Israeli military said the targets were commanders from the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force who it said were operating in Lebanon to plan attacks against Israel while also coordinating with the IRGC in Iran.

“The commanders of the Quds Force's Lebanon Corps operated to advance terror attacks against the state of Israel and its civilians, while operating simultaneously for the IRGC in Iran,” the military said in a statement.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202603101880

Federal appeals court orders end to SAVE plan used by millions of student loan borrowers

PUBLISHED TUE, MAR 10 20269:35 AM

==KEY POINTS••

• A federal appeals court ordered the end to the SAVE plan, the Biden administration-era program used by millions of student loan borrowers.

• The lawsuits against the affordable repayment plan have led to whiplash for student loan borrowers.

A federal appeals court has ordered the end of the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, the Biden administration-era repayment program that brought lower monthly bills to millions of student loan borrowers.

In a judgment issued late Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a Republican-led legal challenge against SAVE.

The panel of 8th Circuit judges overturned a February decision by Judge John Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

The Biden administration introduced SAVE in 2023, billing it as “the most affordable repayment plan ever created.” Under the program, many borrowers expected to see their monthly bills cut in half. But Republican-led legal challenges quickly put the plan on ice.

Consumer advocates and borrowers had hoped that last month’s judgment meant the program would be temporarily revived. President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” phases out the SAVE plan as of July 1, 2028.

More than 7 million student loan borrowers remain enrolled in the SAVE plan as of the fourth quarter, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Those borrowers were placed in forbearanceduring the legal challenges, meaning they didn’t owe monthly payments. Their loans have been accruing interest since August.

“In the coming weeks, the Department will issue clear guidance on next steps for borrowers enrolled in the illegal SAVE Plan, including details regarding how borrowers can move into a legal repayment plan,” Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a statement.

Student loan borrowers in SAVE should immediately file an Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request form and switch into a new plan, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

The best repayment for most borrowers at the moment will be IBR, or the Income-Based Repayment plan, he said. Any borrowers pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness should file a PSLF Buybackapplication to get credit for the months their progress stalled in SAVE.

The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

‘A labyrinth with no clear exit’

On Monday, four borrowers represented by Public Goods Practice LLP, filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education, arguing the agency is compelled to immediately implement the SAVE plan. They say the department’s refusal to enact the SAVE plan and provide lower payments and loan discharge to eligible borrowers violates federal administrative law.

The lawsuit was filed just hours before the 8th Circuit court’s decision to reverse the earlier dismissal.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/10/save-plan-for-student-loan-borrowers-is-over-federal-appeals-court-.html

Russia told Trump it has not shared intelligence with Iran during war, Witkoff says

PUBLISHED TUE, MAR 10 202612:00 PM EDTUPDATED 46 MIN AGO

KEY POINTS

• Russian leaders denied in a call with President Donald Trump on Monday allegations that they are sharing intelligence with Iran during the war, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told CNBC.

• “We can take them at their word,” Witkoff said. “Let’s hope that they’re not sharing.”

• Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday.

• Trump lashed out at a Fox News reporter last week who asked about Russia sharing intelligence with Iran.

Russian leaders in a call with President Donald Trump on Monday denied allegations that they are sharing intelligence with Iran during the war, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said.

“So, you know, we can take them at their word,” Witkoff told CNBC’s “Money Movers” during an interview on Tuesday. “Let’s hope that they’re not sharing.”

Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Witkoff was asked during his interview if he thought Russia was sharing intelligence with Iran about the location of U.S. military assets, and,if so, why the Trump administration would waive sanctions that had barred Indian refiners from buying Russian oil.

“Well, I’m not an intel officer, so I can’t tell you,” Witkoff replied.

“I can tell you that yesterday, on the call with the president, the Russians said they have not been sharing,” Witkoff said. “That’s what they said.”

Witkoff also said he and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had separately had a phone call on Monday morning with Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy advisor.

Ushakov, in thatcall, “reiterated the same,” that Russia is not sharing intelligence with Iran, Witkoff said.

MS Now, in a report on Saturday that cited two U.S. officials with knowledge of the situation, reported that Russia has been giving Iran information that could help that nation’s forces strike American ships, aircraft, and military bases in the Middle East. ==They lie constantly, why? Because BSNow can’t have a friendship with America and Russia!)

“Russia is providing intelligence help to Iran,” one of the officials told MS Now.they lied

(https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/10/iran-war-trump-russia-intelligence-witkoff.html

There’s a Need for Speed Bill Going Through the US Senate Right Now

That’s really the name, but sadly, we couldn’t find any mentions of modded Evos or E46 M3s.

STEPHEN EDELSTEIN

PUBLISHED MAR 8, 2026 10:00 AM EDT

We’re about to find out if the federal government has the need…for more efficient traffic planning. A new bill dubbed the Need for Speed Act was recently introduced by U.S. Senator John Cornyn(R-TX) with a more mundane purpose hiding behind that headline-worthy name.

The bill calls for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration “to develop a national infrastructure intelligence tool to identify bottlenecks, ease traffic congestion, and improve emergency response times on highways,” according to a press release from Cornyn’s office.

More specifically, ==that means a unified dataset and a software tool to manage it,= allowing for interstate coordination of traffic flow. This would be used to identify sources of traffic congestion and enhance coordination between the USDOT and state and local governments on infrastructure investments, as well as emergency responses. Such coordination could have, for example, allowed traffic to be rerouted across state lines after the 2024 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

“Incidents like the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge have exposed critical vulnerabilities in our nation’s highway infrastructure, hampering the swift deployment of emergency responders and disrupting millions of dollars in trade and travel,” Cornyn said in a statement. “This legislation would empower the Department of Transportation to develop a national intelligence tool that will boost interstate coordination, ease congestion, and improve road safety.”

https://www.thedrive.com/news/theres-a-need-for-speed-bill-going-through-the-us-senate-right-now

I doubt it was Cornyn’s bill, Thune probably gave it to him, to impress Trump!

White House says US hitting Iran missile sites with B-2 bunker busters

21 minutes ago

"The US military is moving to dismantle Iran's missile production infrastructure. Our incredible B2 bombers recently dropped dozens of 2000 pound penetrator bombs on deeply buried missile sites," White House Press Secretary told reporters on Tuesday.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202603102915

INSIGHT

Satire spreads online as Iranians await new leader unveiling. 1/2

Arash Sohrabi

Arash Sohrabi

Iran International

3 hours ago

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of late Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, attends a rally in Tehran, Iran, May 31, 2019.

Within hours of Mojtaba Khamenei being named Iran’s new Supreme Leader, state institutions responded with solemn messages of loyalty while Persian-language social media filled with satire, as many Iranian users reacted with disbelief, political frustration and dark humor.

Rather than confronting the official narrative head-on, many posts mocked the opaque and unusual circumstances of Mojtaba’s rise –especially the emergence of a leader who, for many Iranians, remains almost entirely unseen.

The jokes fall broadly into several recurring themes.

‘A leader no one has seen'

Many jokes focus on Mojtaba Khamenei’s near-total absence from public life.

Unlike most senior political figures, Mojtaba has rarely appeared in speeches or interviews,=and only a handful of recordings of his voice are publicly known.

Some usersturned this into a technological joke. One widely shared post said:

“There isn’t even enough audio of Mojtaba Khamenei for AI to train on to make a fake voice of him.”

Others simply pointed to the unusual situation more directly.

“We are entering the second day of Mojtaba Khamenei's leadership, and still nobody has seen him.”

Several posts framed the absence through humorabout remote work– a concept familiar to many younger Iranian users.

“If you like working remotely, the best job is Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Nobody asks where you are, what you’re doing, or even whether you’re alive.”

Another postused religious imageryto exaggerate the idea that he has remained invisible.

“We’re in a situation where the appearance of Mahdi is more likely than the appearance of Mojtaba.”

Mahdi – the messianic figure awaited in Shiite Islam– frequently appears in Iranian satire as a way ofdescribing events considered extremely unlikely.

Another viral joke suggested Mojtaba’s leadership was almost abstract.

“In the phrase ‘Mojtaba’s leadership,’ the literary device being used is personification.”

The remark plays on a Persian rhetorical term used in literature classes, implying that leadership isbeing attributed to something that has not visibly acted.

'The only known quote'

Another recurring joke centers on how little Mojtaba Khamenei has publicly said.

One of thefew widely circulated videos attributed to him shows him announcing that his religious classes would be canceled.

That short clip has now become a punchline.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202603104877

>>24365494

2/2

One post summarized the situation: “The only existing quote from Imam Mojtaba Khamenei:‘Next week there will be no class.’”

The post was accompanied bya parody image styled like the decorative wall murals commonly seen on schools and public buildingsin Iran, where passages from religious figures and political leaders are often painted alongside floral designs.

In the satirical version circulating online, however, the wall bears only themundane lineabout next week’s class being canceled – recasting an ordinary notice as thesupposedly defining quotation of a newly appointed Supreme Leader.

Otherjokes focused on Mojtaba’s lack of a public résumé. One post mocked the situation using corporate language:

“You don’t have a résumé, you want to work remotely, you got the job through connections – and you don’t even have a photo for your CV so they have to generate one with AI.”

Another usersuggested that even performing a simple task could count as experience.

“At least bury your father so you can have one executive job on your résumé.”

‘Schrödinger’s Khamenei’

A darker strand of satire reflects the uncertainty and speculation that often accompany major political events in Iran.

Some jokes played with theidea that Mojtaba’s status remains ambiguous because he has not appeared publicly.

One widely shared post referencedthe famous physics thought experiment known as Schrödinger’s cat:

“I think instead of Schrödinger’s cat we’re dealing with Schrödinger’s Khamenei. Until they show him, we don’t know whether he’s alive or dead.”

Some posts jokinglysuggested that naming Mojtaba as leader could solve several political problems at once.

“Announcing Mojtaba as leader was actually smart. You can’t kill someone who’s already dead.”

Another post used similarly blunt humor:

“You know what’s better than one dead Khamenei? Two dead Khameneis.”

Other jokes focused on the strange overlap between the funeral of the late leader and the introduction of the new one.

One user wrote sarcastically:

“Right now the Islamic Republic has two leaders on earth – one they won’t bury and another they won’t reveal.”

Even the burial itself became a subject of dark humor.

“The only reason they haven’t buried Khamenei yet is to save funeral costs – they’re waiting a few days to bury Mojtaba

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202603104877