Iran struck a US base in Saudi Arabia, Pentagon prepares paratroopers for Kharg Island

Iranian ballistic missiles struck the American Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on Friday, approximately one hundred kilometers from Riyadh. In the attack, which involved at least six ballistic missiles and 29 drones, at least 12 to 15 American soldiers were injured according to various media outlets, several of them seriously. Facilities at the base were hit during the attack, including buildings housing personnel. Iran claims it destroyed one refueling aircraft and damaged three others, though these claims have not been independently confirmed. The base normally hosts two to three thousand personnel focused on missile defense and logistics. Al Jazeera ↗ CNBC ↗

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is responding by deploying three thousand troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East along with two Marine Expeditionary Units, which specialize in rapid amphibious landings and assaults from naval vessels. According to the Washington Post, Kharg Island — through which ninety percent of Iran's oil exports pass — is mentioned among the potential targets of the operations being prepared. Iran is aware of this and is moving additional air defense and military personnel to the island. Fifty thousand American troops are already stationed in the region. The USS Tripoli, which arrived in the area on Friday, carries approximately 2,500 to 3,000 sailors and Marines, including F-35 fighter jets and MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Washington Post ↗ The Hill ↗

Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed on Friday that the conflict's objectives can be achieved without ground forces and that the goal is to destroy Iranian missile and drone factories. At the same time, however, he acknowledged that deploying ground troops serves to give the president maximum flexibility. This discrepancy between Rubio's rhetoric and the reality of deploying paratroopers is drawing criticism even among Republicans. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers spoke of frustration on both sides of the political spectrum, while Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace walked out of a Pentagon briefing and announced she would vote against any further funding until she gets answers. CNBC ↗ CNN ↗

On Saturday, American streets saw a third wave of No Kings protests, the largest since the start of the Trump administration. Organizers report more than 3,200 marches across all fifty states and on several continents, including Paris, London, and Lisbon. Organizers estimate turnout at eight to nine million people, which would represent an increase of roughly one million over the October protests. At the main rally in St. Paul, Minnesota, Bruce Springsteen took the stage, saying they picked the wrong city and that the determination of Minnesotans shows this is still America. In Los Angeles, federal forces deployed tear gas and arrested more than seventy people. NBC News ↗ NPR ↗

According to a Pew Research Center survey, six in ten Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of the conflict, and the same number believe the decision to use military force was wrong. Forty percent think the conflict is making the United States less safe, while only twenty-two percent believe the opposite. Trump's overall approval rating has fallen to thirty-six percent according to Reuters/Ipsos, the lowest since he took office. Approval of his economic policy has dropped to a historic twenty-nine percent, while the average price of gasoline has risen thirty-three percent over the month to nearly four dollars a gallon. Pew Research ↗ The Hill ↗

According to NBC News, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have introduced a toll system for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, with some tankers paying as much as two million dollars. Since the conflict began, only twenty-one tankers have passed through the strait, according to NBC, compared with more than a hundred per day before the escalation, and nearly two thousand ships are stranded nearby. Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi defended the collection of tolls by saying the conflict has its costs. At the same time, Iran itself continues to export oil to China in nearly the same volumes as before. Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthi militias fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at the area around Beersheba in southern Israel, near Israel's main nuclear research center. The Israeli military intercepted one missile and reported no casualties or damage. NBC News ↗ Al Jazeera ↗

According to the Iranian human rights organization HRANA, American and Israeli strikes have caused 1,464 Iranian civilian casualties over the month of the conflict. Former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander General Richard Shirreff told the BBC that any military simulation would show that the Revolutionary Guards are capable of closing the Strait of Hormuz entirely. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree declared that the attacks will continue until the stated objectives are achieved and the aggression on all fronts ends. Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Mansour added that closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which would cut off the maritime route between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal, remains among their options. BBC ↗ Al Jazeera ↗