Day: March 5, 2026

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Trafigura, Venezuelan mining firm sign deal for up to 1,000 kg of gold, Axios reports  reut.rs/4bmLEEK  reut.rs/4bmLEEK

— Reuters (@Reuters) Mar 5, 2026

Trafigura, Venezuelan mining firm sign deal for up to 1,000 kg of gold, Axios reports  reut.rs/4bmLEEK  reut.rs/4bmLEEK

— Reuters (@Reuters) Mar 5, 2026

Lukoil is one of the last major Russian companies to retreat from the West, and its asset sales mark a turbulent final chapter in a story spanning decades of rampant Russian investment overseas following the collapse of the Soviet Union  reut.rs/4lg9mpO

— Reuters (@Reuters) Mar 5, 2026

2/ Read the full Iran Update Evening Special Report, March 4, 2026:  isw.pub/IranUpdate030426PM

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) Mar 5, 2026

NEW: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted multiple strikes at several military compounds in southeastern Tehran on March 4 that house the headquarters of several services and branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as well as other internal security forces. The IDF strikes could be part of an effort to disrupt Iranian command and control, but these strikes could also seek to achieve other effects, such as suppressing and degrading Iranian retaliatory capabilities.

Other Key Takeaways:
There are reports that Kurdish groups moving from Iraqi Kurdistan have begun a cross-border ground operation in Iran. ISW-CTP has observed no corroborating evidence of such an operation, and a senior Iraqi Kurdistan official denied on March 4 that any groups from Iraqi Kurdistan had begun a ground offensive in Iran.

The combined force destroyed more provincial sites of internal and external forces key to the armed forces’ domestic control over the population in Tehran and Kurdish-populated cities in northwestern Iran.

Iran has continued to launch a greater number of drones in its attacks as the number of ballistic missile launches continues to fall, which likely reflects the combined forces’ success in degrading Iran’s ability to launch ballistic missiles.

Iran will continue to attempt to disrupt international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a broader effort to impose a cost on the Gulf states using missiles and drones until the combined force degrades the ability of Iran to do so. The combined force has severely degraded the Iranian navy. (1/2)

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) Mar 5, 2026

Answering a question about concerns over the consequences of the war in the Middle East:

The Iranian regime supplied Russia with weapons that were used to kill our people. Those concerns have somewhat diminished now, because Iran is unlikely to be able to supply Russia with anything at the moment. However, at one point they transferred licenses, and Russia is now producing those missiles and drones on its own under Iranian licenses.

There are also concerns due to signals from the United States, both public and unofficial, indicating that this military operation in the Middle East will continue and that, in this regard, they will count on additional air defense systems for themselves and their allies. They will also be carefully reviewing the production capacity for PAC-2 and PAC-3 – interceptor missiles for the Patriot system. In other words, the concern is that if the war is prolonged, America may reduce its deliveries of air defense systems and missiles to Ukraine.

As for oil prices, everyone in Europe and around the world is now going through this crisis. Our energy crisis is primarily linked to Russia’s war against us. But it is also clear that imports of oil products have been reduced or fully blocked due to the hostilities. This is already affecting global energy prices. It is a challenge, and I believe all countries will be working to address it.

From an interview with Rai Italia (1/5)

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) Mar 5, 2026

Answering a question about concerns over the consequences of the war in the Middle East:

The Iranian regime supplied Russia with weapons that were used to kill our people. Those concerns have somewhat diminished now, because Iran is unlikely to be able to supply Russia with anything at the moment. However, at one point they transferred licenses, and Russia is now producing those missiles and drones on its own under Iranian licenses.

There are also concerns due to signals from the United States, both public and unofficial, indicating that this military operation in the Middle East will continue and that, in this regard, they will count on additional air defense systems for themselves and their allies. They will also be carefully reviewing the production capacity for PAC-2 and PAC-3 – interceptor missiles for the Patriot system. In other words, the concern is that if the war is prolonged, America may reduce its deliveries of air defense systems and missiles to Ukraine.

As for oil prices, everyone in Europe and around the world is now going through this crisis. Our energy crisis is primarily linked to Russia’s war against us. But it is also clear that imports of oil products have been reduced or fully blocked due to the hostilities. This is already affecting global energy prices. It is a challenge, and I believe all countries will be working to address it.

From an interview with Rai Italia (1/5)

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) Mar 5, 2026