After the nomination was announced, Mullin said the opportunity was “humbling” and pledged to focus on securing the border and executing the administration’s national security agenda.
For Trump, the move accomplishes two things at once: it removes a cabinet secretary who had become a lightning rod while installing a loyal political fighter at the helm of the country’s largest domestic security agency.
In Washington’s permanent knife fight, that counts as both damage control and reinforcement.
And the message from the White House was unmistakable. The administration intends to press forward on immigration and homeland security with fewer distractions and a heavier hand on the controls.
Iran Launches Fresh Wave of Missile and Drone Attacks on U.S. Bases Across the Gulf
Iran lit up the Gulf again on Thursday, March 5, with a renewed wave of missiles and drones aimed at U.S. and allied targets, a clear signal that Tehran is not done retaliating for the U.S.–Israeli strike campaign that began on February 28.
Multiple regional governments and news organizations reported heavy overnight barrages, with air defenses engaging threats across several countries that host American forces and infrastructure tied to U.S. operations. The Washington Post reported renewed attacks that included targets linked to al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, areas near Abu Dhabi’s airport in the UAE, and the U.S. naval presence in Bahrain.
Al Udeid, the major U.S. hub in Qatar for air operations and command and control, was again described as a focal point for Iranian fire, even as Qatari air defenses engaged incoming threats. In Bahrain, the U.S. presence has already taken visible damage earlier in the conflict, including strikes reported at or near Naval Support Activity Bahrain, which hosts key U.S. naval headquarters functions in the region.
The scale of the latest salvo is still being clarified, but the same Washington Post live reporting cited tallies from Gulf defense ministries describing large numbers of inbound missiles and drones, much of it intercepted. Reuters reporting earlier in the week likewise documented Iranian missiles and drones fired into multiple Gulf countries, including those with U.S. bases, as part of Tehran’s regional retaliation pattern.
Meanwhile, the war’s political footprint keeps expanding along with the strike map. The Associated Press reported that the United States closed its embassy in Kuwait as the conflict escalated, underscoring how quickly “over there” becomes a domestic operational problem when the threat picture spreads across host nations.
One more detail worth keeping, because it tells you what kind of fight this has become. U.S. Central Command confirmed that three U.S. F-15Es were involved in a friendly-fire incident in Kuwait earlier this week, with all aircrew recovered and the cause under investigation. Even when the missiles do not get you, the chaos might.
Bottom line, Iran is trying to make every American flag in the Gulf a pressure point. The region is answering with interceptors and emergency measures. Neither side looks ready to blink.
Hunker down, we may be in this one for a bit.
Iran’s Internet Blackout Leaves 80 Million People Cut Off From the World During War
Iran is fighting this war on two fronts: one with missiles, the other with a kill switch.
As bombs fall, Iranian authorities have sharply restricted access to the global internet, leaving much of the country effectively cut off from outside communication. Monitoring groups and international reporting say the blackout has stretched beyond several days as the conflict with Israel and the United States intensifies.
How severe is it?
Internet monitoring organization NetBlocks reported that Iran’s connectivity dropped to roughly 1 percent of normal levels after more than 100 hours of disruption, effectively isolating most of the country from the global web.
That is not slow internet. That is digital isolation.
Who feels it first is predictable: ordinary people.
When a modern country goes dark online, the disruption hits far beyond social media. Families struggle to contact relatives abroad. Businesses lose the ability to process payments or communicate with customers. Journalists and researchers lose access to outside information. Reports also warn that internet shutdowns can make wartime conditions more dangerous by limiting civilians’ ability to receive updates or safety information during airstrikes.
Iran’s network architecture adds another layer to the problem. The country has spent years building what it calls the National Information Network, a domestic internet infrastructure that can operate even when connections to the global web are cut. In practice, that allows authorities to maintain selected internal services while blocking most outside communication.
The result is an uneven digital landscape. Some government-approved services may still function, while large parts of the population remain effectively offline.
People do try to get around it.
Virtual private networks, or VPNs, are the most common workaround, though heavy shutdowns often disrupt those tools as well. A small number of users have attempted to connect through satellite systems such as Starlink, but equipment is limited, illegal to possess in Iran, and subject to confiscation by authorities.
In wartime, controlling information can be nearly as powerful as controlling territory.
Iran’s blackout restricts what citizens can see, what they can say, and what the outside world can verify in real time. When the internet goes dark in a country of more than 80 million people, the battlefield does not disappear.
It simply becomes harder to see.
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