It’s Monday, March 9. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Terror on the Upper East Side—and an unbothered mayor. The cities vying to become the next Dubai. Lessons from a musician living under a dictatorship. And much more.
But first: The latest on the war in Iran.
The conflict in the Middle East has entered its second week. On Saturday, a week since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran and killed its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Israel targeted regime-controlled oil refineries near Tehran and black smoke filled the city’s skyline. The next day, the regime announced its new leader: Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of the slain Supreme Leader Khamenei. Here’s what else is new:
The Pentagon announced the seventh U.S. casualty of the war. The service member was seriously injured in a strike on a Saudi military base on March 1 and died of those injuries.
Oil prices have surged to more than $100 per barrel.
Israel did not rule out targeting Iran’s new leader.
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian announced Saturday that the Islamic Republic would no longer attack neighboring countries, but the strikes resumed soon after.
An Iranian drone struck a water desalination plant in Bahrain, marking the first time the war has impacted the most essential resource in the Gulf.
As Iranian oil burns and Mojtaba takes the reins of a teetering regime, the question of what will come next for Iran remains as uncertain as it was a week ago. One crucial factor will be the Kurds. But what sort of role will they play in the fight for Iran’s future? After reports that the CIA were arming Kurdish forces, Trump said on Saturday, “I don’t want the Kurds to go into Iran.”
Trump’s words echo in Eli Lake’s latest reporting. He talks to a senior Kurdish leader about the likelihood that Kurdish fighters will enter the war. Read his report on why Iran’s Kurds won’t march on Iran.
The Kurds may not be about to take up arms and fight, but Roya Hakakian argues that they remain central to this crucial chapter in Iranian history. Why? Because they are the Islamic Republic’s most defiant opponents. And no one serious about change in Iran can do it without them. Read Roya on the ayatollahs’ oldest opponents.
From Kurdistan to the Strait of Hormuz, which is ground zero for an emerging energy crisis. The shipping lane off the coast of Iran ordinarily transits 20 million barrels of oil a day, but is now effectively empty after Iran has threatened to target any tankers that use it. Ellen R. Wald breaks down the global impact of the blockage of the strait, and explains why we are approaching the “worst-case scenario” in the world’s most important maritime choke point.
Farther up the Persian Gulf sits another strategically vital site for the Iranian regime: Kharg Island, where 90 percent of Iranian oil exports are processed. Jay Solomon talks to officials in the Trump administration and Arab governments who say that the U.S. and Israel have the island in their sights. “It’s amazing they’d place so many of their oil eggs in one basket,” says one. Read Jay’s full report on the tiny island at the center of the conflict.
For more on the conflict in the Middle East, listen to the latest episode of our new podcast, School of War. Today, host Aaron MacLean talks to Mark Montgomery, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral and senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Aaron and Mark go deep on everything from the situation in the Strait of Hormuz to the growing parts Ukraine and Russia are playing in the war.
A Tale of Two Cities
Glamorous Gulf cities like Dubai and Doha have long been sold as the go-to for the world’s richest, promising the fruits of Middle Eastern oil money without the sectarian violence of the northern countries like Iraq and Syria. Those illusions were shattered after these cities came under attack from Iran in retaliation to Operation Epic Fury. Now Singapore is preparing to take their place as an offshore financial hub. Jeevan Vasagar thinks the Southeast Asian island nation could be the war’s biggest winner. Read his piece for us to find out why:
Free Press columnist Tyler Cowen has a less likely candidate to fill the gap. Writing from South Africa, he makes the case for Cape Town. Yes, it has a serious crime problem, but the sights, weather, food, and culture are world-class and crucially, no belligerent militarized neighbors threaten its millions of residents. Read Tyler’s latest:
Two men tried to detonate homemade bombs on the Upper East Side of Manhattan on Saturday. They had, according to reports, been inspired by ISIS videos. In a video from the scene, you can hear someone scream, “Allahu akbar.” But you would never know any of that from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s statement—or from much of the mainstream media’s coverage. Read Mene Ukueberuwa’s column on a failed attack, and the disgraceful response from the mayor and his sympathizers in the press.
What is it like to be a musician under a dictatorship? Brazilian singer and composer Joyce Moreno writes for this week’s “Ancient Wisdom” about her creative journey under a repressive regime. Despite the hardships—or perhaps because of them, she writes— creativity ran wild at the time. But ultimately, the Brazilian record labels boxed her out thanks to her provocative lyrical style. Today, we call that canceling.
On the latest episode of Conversations with Coleman, Coleman Hughes sits down with James Hankins, a former Harvard University professor who left the Ivy League for the University of Florida in order to teach the Western canon the way it ought to be. They talk about how our elite institutions ignore the Great Books at their own peril, and how to reinvigorate the curriculum at America’s universities.
MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS
THE NEWS
At least six are dead and a dozen are injured after a trio of tornadoes ripped through southern Michigan and Oklahoma on Saturday. The tornadoes claimed the lives of a mother and daughter in Oklahoma, and a 12-year-old boy in Michigan.
The United States government issued a license on Friday that authorizes dealings with a Venezuelan state-owned gold mining company—the latest sign of the Trump administration’s deepening economic ties with the Venezuelan government under Delcy Rodríguez. In January, Rodríguez signed a law that opened Venezuela’s oil sector to privatization.
Norwegian police are investigating an explosion outside the U.S. Embassy in Oslo early Sunday morning. Police received reports of a “loud bang” around 1 a.m., Oslo police said in a news release. No injuries were reported.
A federal judge ruled Saturday that Kari Lake, President Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, did not possess legal authority to dismantle the Voice of America, a long-lauded form of American soft power that broadcasts news in regions with regime-controlled media. The ruling voided all action taken by Lake since she assumed the CEO role in July 2025.
Team USA baseball defeated Great Britain by a score of 9–1 on Saturday, securing its second blowout win in Pool B of the World Baseball Classic. Kyle Schwarber blasted a two-run go-ahead homer in the second inning, after Great Britain jumped out to a one-run lead early. Team USA faces Mexico tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET in Houston, Texas.
After the win, Trump must demand long term discounted oil and gas from Iran better than the deals the CCP got. I bet he already has. Nothing triggers the lefties more than the US business imperialism.
I thought we were self sufficient in oil and gas and an export nation? If not, drill baby drill.