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Good morning,
Welcome to another mid-week briefing. Let’s review the major updates from the week so far.
Reporting Period: March 16-19, 2026
Bottom-Line Up Front:
1. On March 18, Israel confirmed it has eliminated two senior Iranian leaders. Similarly, Israel has also targeted the South Pars natural gas fields, a direct attempt to cripple Iran’s energy production. A statement by Prime Minister Netanyahu suggests Israel’s motives are formal regime change in Iran, which could require long-term military operations.
2. On March 17, the director of the NCTC resigned, citing his lack of support for the war with Iran. In response, the Director of National Intelligence issued a statement, confirming that President Trump launched Operation Epic Fury to address an imminent threat from Iran. The FBI is currently investigating Joe Kent for leaking intelligence. All factors indicate high-level policy disagreements and the politicization of the US intelligence community.
3. On March 17, the US confirmed the three primary partners for the Golden Dome’s C2 system. The announcement coincided with a budget expansion, the funds of which will be used to improve space-based systems related to the Golden Dome.
Israeli Strikes Target Iranian Leaders, Oil Infrastructure As Operation Epic Fury Continues
Summary
On March 18, Israel confirmed it has eliminated two senior Iranian leaders. Similarly, Israel has also targeted the South Pars natural gas fields, a direct attempt to cripple Iran’s energy production. A statement by Prime Minister Netanyahu suggests Israel’s motives are formal regime change in Iran, which could require long-term military operations.
Findings and Analysis
Scale: On March 18, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States and Israel have conducted over 15,000 strikes on Iranian targets since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury on February 28 (WSJ). The details were confirmed by Secretary of War Hegseth, who also mentioned that “That’s well over 1,000 a day” (WSJ). In a separate post, The White House has claimed that US forces have struck more than 7,800 targets, suggesting Israel has maintained a significant operational tempo alongside the US military (The White House). Currently, more than 50,000 US troops have been deployed to the Middle East region to support Operation Epic Fury (The Kobeissi Letter).
Israeli Leadership Strikes: On March 17, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli strikes targeted and killed Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and head of the IRGC’s Basij force (X). Similarly, Israel’s Ministry of Defence also confirmed that Israeli strikes eliminated Esmail Khatib, Iran’s Minister of Intelligence (Euro News).
Comment: The Israeli strikes that killed Larijani and Khatib are significant, as both figures were almost certain to be high-level decisionmakers in lieu of Supreme Leader Khamenei’s death and the new appointee’s reported injuries. Additionally, Netanyahu’s statement reveals Israel’s strategic intentions and provides some insight into how long the conflict may last. In his statement, Netanyahu stated that “We're undermining this regime in the hope of giving the Iranian people a chance to oust it. It won't happen all at once, it won't happen easily. But if we persist in this—we'll give them the opportunity to take their fate into their own hands.” This remark suggests total regime change is one of Israel’s goals, a factor that would likely demand long-term military operations and direct intervention resembling nation-building, two factors the Trump administration has tried to distance itself from.
Israeli Energy Strikes: On March 18, Israel conducted strikes on the South Pars natural gas fields, the world’s largest (AP News). In retaliation, Iran struck the Habshan and Bab fields in the USA (AP News). Iranian President Pezeshkian denounced the strikes, stating that the consequences “could engulf the entire world” in conflict, presumably (AP News).
NCTC Director Resigns, Suggesting Politicization Of US Intelligence Community
Summary
On March 17, the director of the NCTC resigned, citing his lack of support for the war with Iran. In response, the Director of National Intelligence issued a statement, confirming that President Trump launched Operation Epic Fury to address an imminent threat from Iran. The FBI is currently investigating Joe Kent for leaking intelligence. All factors indicate high-level policy disagreements and the politicization of the US intelligence community.
Findings and Analysis
Joe Kent’s Resignation: On March 17, Joe Kent resigned from his position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), citing his inability to support the war against Iran (X).
Indirect Response: On March 17, after Kent’s resignation, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard posted on X, stating President Trump’s decision to launch Operation Epic Fury was justified due to Iran having “posed an imminent threat,” presumably to the US and our allies (X).
FBI Investigation: On March 18, the day after Kent’s resignation and Gabbard’s defense of Operation Epic Fury, Fox News reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating Kent for allegations that he leaked classified information (Fox News). Fox News notes that the investigation pre-dates Kent’s resignation (Fox News). Other open-source reporting suggests that Kent was barred from high-level briefings on the suspicion that he was a leaker, and that he had not been a part of the strategic planning behind Operation Epic Fury (OSINT Defender).
US Names C2 Primes For Golden Dome, Expands Budget
Summary
On March 17, the US confirmed the three primary partners for the Golden Dome’s C2 system. The announcement coincided with a budget expansion, the funds of which will be used to improve space-based systems related to the Golden Dome.
Findings and Analysis
C2 Primes: On March 17, General Guetlein, the Direct Reporting Program Manager (DRPM) for the Golden Dome, announced that Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Northrop Grumman have been selected as the projects command and control (C2) primes (Defense Daily, Reuters). The program budget is being expanded by $10 billion, totaling $185 billion (Reuters). That budget increase is being used to expand three space-centric components of the initiative:
The Advanced Missile Tracking Initiative
A space data network
The Hypersonic Missile and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS)
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End Brief
That concludes this brief.
Thank you for reading!
— Nick
This publication is an Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) product and does not contain Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) or Classified Information.
Comments represent the analysis, opinions, and estimates of The Intel Brief writer(s).