The Wire - March 9, 2026

//The Wire//2300Z March 9, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: TERROR ATTACK STRIKES NEW YORK AS PROTESTERS TARGETED WITH IEDS. AMERICAN BOMBING OF IRAN CONTINUES AS IRANIAN DRONE STRIKES REGULARLY TARGET OIL INFRASTRUCTURE IN MIDDLE EAST.//  -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----   -International Events- Middle East: The war continues, with both American strikes on Tehran, and Iranian strikes on Tel Aviv continuing over the weekend. The American 'Shock and Awe' campaign continues day and night, with increasingly more substantial bombings taking place over the weekend. Iranian drone attacks continue as before, with several strikes of note being carried out over the weekend. As of this morning, the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone in the UAE is still on fire from last night's attacks. The BAPCO refinery in Bahrain was also struck again several times over the past few days, along with the desalination plant in Ma'ameer. The fuel point at Kuwait International Airport was also struck over the weekend, as civilian flights throughout Kuwait remain grounded until further notice due to Iranian targeting efforts. Strait of Hormuz: The impacts to shipping remain constant, with one commercial vessel reporting being struck by a drone in the Saudi port of Jubail on Saturday. This morning BAPCO declared a force majeure for their contracts, indicating that they are unable to meet the obligations of their contracts, due to the war impacting operations. Turkey: This morning Turkish authorities stated that another Iranian ballistic missile had been intercepted in their airspace. The missile was reportedly shot down by a US Navy vessel stationed in the eastern Med. Norway: An explosion was reported at the US Embassy in Oslo, as an unidentified assailant placed an IED at the entrance to the facility Saturday night. Norwegian officials have stated that the incident is being investigated as a possible terror attack, and photos of the suspect have been released, as the suspect remains at large. No further details have been provided on the composition of the suspected explosive device, however the investigation is ongoing. -HomeFront- New York: On Saturday, an anti-Islam protest outside of Mayor Mamdani's residence was attacked by counter protesters, which involved terrorists attacking demonstrators with IEDs. Initially, groups of protesters were separated by the NYPD: The group protesting against Mamdani (and against Islam in general) was separated from a group of counterprotesters by pedestrian barriers as is customary for events where protesters have a high likelihood of attacking each other. In this case, two of the counterprotesters arrived with IEDs, lit their fuses, and threw them over to the main protest group, targeting the small group of about a dozen anti-Islam protesters. Both of the IEDs that were thrown failed to detonate, as the impact with the ground extinguished the lit fuses. The suspects were immediately detained at the scene, and a search of the area revealed additional IEDs located in a parked vehicle adjacent to the event. The two suspects have been identified as Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, both residents of Pennsylvania. More details are expected as the investigation continues. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: A bit of back story is needed to explain the context for how important the attack in New York City actually was. The protest that started everything was an "Americans Against Islamification" protest organized by Jake Lang, who has become infamous for going into Islamic strongholds, and holding protests that are intended to inflame tensions. This context may result in many people being tempted to roll their eyes and dismiss this attack due to the history of Lang's protests usually being rather theatrical. For instance, the day before the IED attack on his group he crashed a vigil to the Ayatollah, driving by the event in a Uhaul van with a goat and an American flag. Theatrics aside, however, Saturday's IED attack was a VERY big deal that should not be ignored as a publicity stunt, because it's possible that this attack inadvertently exposed a much wider and more substantial terrorist network. This hunch is due to the composition of the explosive devices themselves...these were not the standard low-grade pipe-bombs that are the usual terrorist go-to for attacks like this. NYPD officials have stated that the devices were comprised of Triacetone triperoxide (TATP), which is a powerful Homemade Explosive (HME) compound that is highly unstable if made in an improvised weapons lab. Speculating a bit regarding this attack, it is unlikely that a terrorist group would build such substantial IEDs solely to target a dozen people at a pop-up protest. These take time to make, and the protest was only announced a few hours before it began. It is possible to make a batch of TATP in a day, however it's very unlikely that the explosives were made for this specific event. And for a bomb maker who seeks to avoid getting the nickname "lefty" these explosive compounds require some level of competency and experience to make. As a result, it's far more likely that these explosives were intended for some other target, before the last-minute protest caused the target to shift to the most emotionally-motivating target. It's possible that a terrorist cell saw Lang's defilement of the Ayatollah's vigil the previous day, and decided to take some of the pre-made explosives to commit a terror attack the next morning when he announced the protest at Mamdani's residence. If this theory bears any weight, it's possible that there are other individuals elsewhere (either acting on their own, or in coordination with more organized groups) which are probably sitting on similar armaments. Exactly where these cells are located is anyone's guess, but since the two attackers themselves travelled all the way from Pennsylvania to conduct the terror attack, these threats are not endemic to New York City alone. Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT// Bibliography, Sources, and Research - UAE 1: https://x.com/modgovae/status/2030596754287247788 Iran 1: https://x.com/SoarAtlas/status/2030937317440151991 Bahrain 1: https://x.com/Osinttechnical/status/2030860092791271473 Iran 2: https://x.com/SoarAtlas/status/2030847600929505356 Kuwait 1: https://x.com/AJENews/status/2030480094167273896 Middle East 1: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260308-kuwait-airport-saudi-arabia-targeted-as-iran-presses-gulf-attacks New York 1: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/new-york-city/gracie-mansion-explosive-device-confirmed-nypd/6473802/ Bahrain 2: https://x.com/moi_bahrain/status/2030928001530048547 Kuwait 2: https://www.thetraveler.org/kuwait-airspace-closed-what-travelers-need-to-know-now/ Tehran CIVCAS Imagery 1: https://www.npr.org/2026/03/04/nx-s1-5735801/satellite-imagery-shows-strike-that-destroyed-iranian-school-was-more-extensive-than-first-reported BAPCO 1: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bahrains-bapco-announces-force-majeure-operations-2026-03-09/ Norway 1: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yjegg892lo Obsidian Internal Links: [[The Wire - March 1, 2026]] [[The Wire - March 2, 2026]] [[The Wire - March 3, 2026]] [[The Wire - March 4, 2026]] [[The Wire - March 5, 2026]] [[The Wire - March 6, 2026]] [[The Wire - March 9, 2026]] Tags: #Iran #War #GulfWar