US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted Washington is meeting its objectives against Iran despite escalating attacks on Gulf energy facilities. Iran struck Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas facility and energy sites in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, driving oil above $100 a barrel.
Published On 19 Mar 2026
Sharp rises in the price of oil and gas as a result of the war in Iran have set off an economic chain reaction which is already hitting people in the pocket.
The benchmark Brent crude oil remains above $110 a barrel, compared to around $72 before the war.
And a unit of wholesale gas now stands at 150p – almost double the 77p per unit it was just three weeks ago.
As a result, it is thought that inflation – which was anticipated to fall to 2% by the end of the year – could, in fact, now reach 5%, according to Thomas Pugh, the chief economist at accounting firm RSM.
While City traders believe there could be three more interest rate hikes coming later this year.
Money blog: Bank of England says it’s ‘ready to act’ over Iran war
Interest rate hikes
And as these forecasts tick up, so too does the chance of an interest hike.
Towards the end of February the consensus was that borrowing costs would come down this year – the focus of the discussion was simply by how much, and when.
But today, before the Bank of England announced it was keeping the base interest rate at 3.75%, the debate among traders moved.
No longer were they wondering whether there would be a cut, nor whether rates would remain the same. Instead, there was a 3% chance of an increase.
Those same traders have now priced in an increase in June, although it could come as soon as next month, when the energy price cap is expected to rise due to the elevated wholesale energy costs.
April’s meeting of the interest rate setters at the Bank of England is now on a knife-edge, with a 51% chance of no change and a 49% likelihood of a cut, according to London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) data.
For now, traders believe there will likely be three hikes in 2026, coming in June, July and December.
If they come to pass, the interest rate will be brought to 4.5% by the end of the year.
That is in sharp contrast to where we were at the very start of the month. At that point, the interest rate was thought to fall to 3.25% before the end of 2026.
Not everyone agrees, however. Provided there aren’t yet more upticks in oil prices, and it remains below $125 a barrel, economic research firm Pantheon Macroeconomics thinks the Bank has enough room not to make change to its base interest rate.
Impacts already here
Even if none of this comes to pass, the prospect of these higher rates is already hitting those looking to remortgage.
Average mortgage rates are at year-long highs.
The typical two-year fixed mortgage rate jumped to its highest since April 2025: from 4.83% at the start of the month to 5.3% on Thursday, according to financial information company Moneyfacts.
An average five-year fixed deal has not been this high since August 2024, rising from 4.95% at the beginning of March to 5.35%.
“Conflict in the Middle East has caused a significant increase in global energy and other commodity prices, which will affect households’ fuel and utility prices and have indirect effects via businesses’ costs,” the Monetary Policy Committee said.
“CPI inflation will be higher in the near term as a result of the new shock to the economy.”
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Joe Kent rose on the right as a combat veteran turned political insurgent — a former Green Beret and CIA officer who channeled his battlefield experience into a critique of America’s “endless wars” and the D.C. establishment that sustained them.
A vocal ally of President Donald Trump and a participant in post-2020 election challenges, Kent became a prominent voice in the populist wing of the GOP.
Now, his recent resignation as director of the National Counterterrorism Center — and his accusation that the war in Iran was driven by “pressure from Israel” — has triggered a swift GOP backlash, leaving Kent isolated from parts of the political movement that once embraced him.
TRUMP RESURFACES OLD TWEET FROM INTEL OFFICIAL WHO RESIGNED
Kent’s Tuesday resignation letter laid out a direct challenge to the Trump administration’s justification for the Iran War, stating that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation” and arguing that the conflict was driven by “pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
He also alleged that a “misinformation campaign” by Israeli officials and U.S. media had pushed the United States toward war, claims that quickly drew condemnation from lawmakers in both parties.
After Kent’s abrupt resignation, it came to light that he had been under investigation by the FBI for weeks for allegedly leaking classified information.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was unaware of the probe, a senior intelligence official told Fox News Digital Thursday.
Administration officials also told Fox News Kent had been cut out of planning meetings for the current Iran mission, known as Operation Epic Fury, as well as the president’s daily briefings.
Kent’s resignation, now shadowed by a reported FBI investigation into alleged leaks, has thrust a once-rising figure in Trump’s orbit into the center of a growing clash over the administration’s Iran strategy, how intelligence is used in decisions on military action, and internal tensions within the national security team.
Joe Kent, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, is sworn in to the House Homeland Security Committee hearing titled “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland,” Dec. 11, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Kent’s rise in conservative circles was shaped as much by his military career as by personal loss.
A 20-year Army Special Forces veteran and former CIA paramilitary officer, he served in multiple combat deployments before entering public life.
His profile grew significantly after the 2019 death of his first wife, Navy Senior Chief Shannon, who was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria.
Kent frequently has cited her death as a turning point for him, fueling his criticism of what he describes as failed U.S. foreign policy and “endless wars” in the Middle East.
He later entered politics, running for Congress in 2022 and 2024 in Washington state as a Republican aligned with President Donald Trump’s “America First” movement.
Kent secured Trump’s endorsement during his campaigns and became a prominent voice in the populist wing of the party, combining a hardline stance on national security with opposition to prolonged military interventions.
Kent was killed in an ISIS bombing in Syria in 2019. (US Navy )
Kent’s recent departure has raised questions about internal dynamics within the Trump administration’s national security team, particularly as differences emerge over Iran strategy and the intelligence used to justify it.
While Gabbard has long aligned herself with a more restrained approach to foreign policy, the White House has taken a more aggressive posture toward Iran, raising the possibility of a widening divide over both strategy and the intelligence used to justify it.
Gabbard has responded cautiously in the days since Kent’s resignation, avoiding a direct defense of his claims while emphasizing the role of the president in making final decisions.
In a statement on Iran threats following Kent’s departure, Gabbard did not mention him by name, instead stressing that intelligence agencies provide assessments but that “the president is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat.”
Pressed by senators in a worldwide threat hearing Wednesday over whether she agreed with the White House that Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S. prior to strikes that began Feb. 28, she repeatedly declined to say so, arguing it was up to the president to make such a determination.
During a parallel hearing in the House Thursday, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., read portions of Kent’s resignation letter — including his claim that Israeli officials and U.S. media had pushed the United States toward war — and asked whether Gabbard agreed with the statement.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth greets one of Joe Kent’s sons. The former National Counterterrorism Director is a father of two and a Gold Star spouse. (U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery)
“He said a lot of things in that letter,” Gabbard responded, adding that the president “makes his own decisions based on the information that’s available to him.”
When asked whether Kent’s comments concerned her, Gabbard replied simply: “Yes.”
TOP COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL RESIGNS IN PROTEST OF US WAR AGAINST IRAN
Kent’s remarks also have drawn sharp criticism from senior Republicans.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell described the language in Kent’s resignation letter as “virulent anti-Semitism,” calling it “baseless and incendiary conspiracies” and saying such views have “no place” in government.
In early March, Gabbard’s chief of staff, Matt Baker, left his role, though a senior intelligence official told Fox News Digital Baker’s departure was a long-planned return to the private sector.
Gabbard also has recently brought on Dan Caldwell, an outspoken advocate of a more restrained foreign policy. Caldwell previously was the subject of a Pentagon leak probe during his time working with War Secretary Pete Hegseth, though the results of that probe have not been publicized and Caldwell insists they are unsubstantiated.
A source familiar with that move said Caldwell will be doing administration work rather than shaping policy.
Gabbard’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Non-interventionist Republicans praised Kent after his departure.
“Another insider sees what we see: no imminent threat, just lobby pressure. This is why we need to defund and debate,” said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
“Joe Kent is a GREAT AMERICAN HERO. God bless him and protect him! He just exposed that the war with Iran is AMERICA LAST and we voted against it,” said former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
Kent’s past comments on Iran reflect a more nuanced position than his resignation might suggest.
During his congressional campaigns, he consistently portrayed Iran as a real and ongoing threat and warned against allowing it to expand its influence across the region.
At times, Kent’s rhetoric went further, reflecting a willingness to use direct force against Iran when he viewed it as necessary.
In a 2020 social media post following the U.S. strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the elite Quds Force responsible for operations outside Iran. Kent urged the administration to “wipe Iran’s ballistic capability out,” while still calling for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from the region.
The comments highlighted a tension that has defined his foreign policy views —support for aggressive, targeted action against adversaries alongside a deep opposition to prolonged military entanglements.
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By 2024, Kent had coalesced around a doctrine of what he described as “peace through strength,” praising Trump-era policies that combined sanctions, targeted strikes and diplomacy while avoiding large-scale military commitments.
In a Newsweek op-ed that year, he argued that sending U.S. troops to confront Iran or its proxies would be “a huge mistake,” advocating instead for withdrawing forces from vulnerable positions while continuing to strike adversaries from a distance.
His resignation marks a sharper break: not just opposing escalation, but rejecting the premise that Iran posed an imminent threat at all.
Kent could not be reached for comment.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI for comment on its ongoing investigation.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has called the claims in Kent’s resignation letter “false” and “laughable.”
“There are many false claims in this letter, but let me address one specifically: that ‘Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.’ This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over,” she wrote on X.
“The absurd allegation that President Trump made this decision based on the influence of others, even foreign countries, is both insulting and laughable.”
Reference #18.49200117.1773936847.d7326e7
https://errors.edgesuite.net/18.49200117.1773936847.d7326e7
A new Android malware called Perseus is checking user-curated notes to steal sensitive information, like passwords, recovery phrases, or financial data.
Distributed over unofficial stores disguised as IPTV, Perseus allows complete device takeover, screenshot capturing , and overlay attacks.
By posing as IPTV apps, which are often used to stream pirated content, the threat actor relies on the user’s familiarity with sideloading APKs from outside the Google Play store and ignoring security warnings.
This trend has emerged over the past eight months, as users seek free or low-cost ways to access live sports broadcasts. In a recent campaign, threat actors leveraged the IPTV app lure to distribute the Massiv Android banking malware.
According to researchers at mobile security company ThreatFabric, Perseus is primarily targeting financial institutions in Turkey and Italy, as well as crypto services.
One app loading the malware is called Roja Directa TV, a popular sports streaming service that has been the target of copyright infringement and shutdown actions.
The dropper for Perseus can bypass Android 13+ sideloading restrictions and is the same one for delivering the Klopatra and Medusa malware.
According to ThreatFabric researchers, “Perseus appears to build specifically on the Phoenix codebase,” which was created from the Cerberus code, leaked almost six years ago.
In a report today, the researchers say that the malware has two versions, one in Turkish and a more refined one in English, which also features better debugging and additional quality-of-life features.
The English variant includes extensive logging and emojis in the code, which is a strong indication that AI tools were used in the development process.
A focus on Turkey is also evident in the list of targeted financial institutions in the country (17), followed by Italy with 15, Poland with 5, Germany (3), and France (2). The malware also targets 9 cryptocurrency apps.
By abusing Android Accessibility Services, Perseus gives operators full remote control over the infected devices, enabling them to:
Perseus’ unusual feature targets Android note-taking apps, including Google Keep, Xiaomi Notes, Samsung Notes, ColorNote, Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, and Simple Notes.
ThreatFabric researchers note that this is the first time they’ve seen an Android malware checking for sensitive details in personal notes on the device.
“While many Android malware families focus primarily on harvesting credentials or intercepting communications, this feature reflects a broader interest in contextual and personally curated data,” reads the ThreatFabric report.
“Notes often contain sensitive information such as passwords, recovery phrases, financial details, or private thoughts, making them a valuable target for attackers.”
The malware’s English version uses Accessibility Services to systematically open the notes apps one by one and scan individual notes stored in them.
Perseus performs extensive anti-analysis and evasion checks before executing on a device, including root, emulator fingerprints, SIM details, hardware profile, battery data, Bluetooth presence, app count, and Google Play Services availability, and formulates a “suspicion score” that it sends to the command-and-control (C2) panel.
Based on that score, the operator decides whether to proceed with data theft.
To minimize risk, Android users are recommended to avoid sideloading APKs from questionable sources and to only download legal streaming apps from the official Android app store, Google Play. Also, ensure that Play Protect is active and use it to regularly scan the device for known threats.
Malware is getting smarter. The Red Report 2026 reveals how new threats use math to detect sandboxes and hide in plain sight.
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Reference #18.50200117.1773936429.19417191
https://errors.edgesuite.net/18.50200117.1773936429.19417191
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the US and Israel of “potential tragic consequences” if they don’t end the war on Iran. He shared a second message for Iran, cautioning it against attacking its neighbours who were never “parties to the conflict”.
Published On 19 Mar 2026
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War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday the Pentagon will ask Congress for additional funding related to the Iran war as Operation Epic Fury continues into its third week.
Speaking at a Pentagon press briefing, Hegseth said the supplemental request would help cover the costs of operations and replenish U.S. weapons stockpiles.
“As far as $200 billion, I think that number could move, obviously. It takes money to kill bad guys,” he told reporters, confirming reporting from The Washington Post that the Department of War is seeking that level of funding.
“We’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded for what’s been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition is – everything’s refilled, and not just refilled, but above and beyond,” Hegseth added.
TRUMP RALLIES DEFENSE TITANS TO SURGE WEAPONS OUTPUT AS IRAN WAR RAGES
War Secretary Pete Hegseth (L) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speak during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Mar. 19, 2026 (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
In December, Congress authorized about $856 billion for the Pentagon in fiscal year 2026 as part of a broader $891 billion national defense budget.
Fox News confirmed Thursday that the War Department is seeking funding “north of $200 billion,” with replenishing ammunition stockpiles expected to be the biggest challenge.
A senior House Republican source also told Fox News the price tag “will be whatever it will be.”
HEGSETH WARNS ‘MORE CASUALTIES’ EXPECTED IN OPERATION EPIC FURY AGAINST IRAN
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Nov. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The multibillion-dollar ask could face significant hurdles in Congress, where some lawmakers are expected to demand spending offsets that may be difficult to secure following recent budget cuts.
Democratic support also appears unlikely amid ongoing concerns about the lack of congressional authorization for the conflict.
The narrow Republican majority in the House adds another challenge, while any measure in the Senate would likely need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
Lawmakers have discussed using the budget reconciliation process to bypass the Senate threshold, but some Republicans remain wary of pursuing another reconciliation bill.
NEW IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER ‘LIKELY DISFIGURED,’ HEGSETH SAYS
U.S. Navy’s USS Gerald R. Ford conducts flight operations in support of Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran, from an unidentified location, released March 9, 2026. (DVIDS/Reuters)
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. will continue pursuing its military objectives and expand strikes deeper into Iranian territory.
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He told reporters the U.S. military recently dropped 5,000-pound penetrator munitions on underground storage facilities housing coastal defense cruise missiles and other support equipment.
“These weapons are bespokely designed to get through concrete and or rocks and function after penetrating those barriers,” he said. “We continue to hunt and kill mine storage facilities and naval ammunition depots. We continue to hunt and kill afloat assets, including more than 120 vessels and 44 minelayers and the pressure will continue.”
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The Minnesota Vikings have made another addition to their quarterback room.
After signing Kyler Murray to a one-year contract last week, the Vikings announced they signed Carson Wentz to a one-year deal on Thursday. Wentz spent last season with the Vikings as a backup to J.J. McCarthy.
With the addition of Murray and the return of Wentz, the Vikings have added competition for McCarthy while ensuring they have quality backup quarterback options. Murray and McCarthy will compete for the starting quarterback job, while Wentz will serve as one of the team’s backups.
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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz (11) drops back to pass against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Oct. 23, 2025. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
Wentz started five games last season, and the team went 2-3 in his starts. He completed 65.1% of his passes for 1,216 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions. His season ended when he sustained a dislocated shoulder.
The 33-year-old tried to play through the injury before eventually undergoing surgery on the dislocation, a torn labrum, and a fracture in the shoulder.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz (11) passes the ball during the first half of the NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)
After Wentz got injured, and later McCarthy got injured for a second time last season, the Vikings were forced to start undrafted rookie Max Brosmer for two games, which were both losses. With Murray, Wentz, and McCarthy, the team is better equipped to survive quarterback injuries, which is pertinent because Murray and McCarthy both have lengthy injury histories.
Murray was limited to five games last season with a foot injury and has only played a full season once in the last four seasons, playing 11 games in 2022, 8 in 2023, 17 in 2024, and 5 last season.
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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz (11) passes the ball against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter of an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on Oct. 5, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
McCarthy, on the other hand, missed his entire rookie season after tearing his meniscus in the preseason. He missed six games at the beginning of last year with a high ankle sprain, one with a concussion, and another with a hairline fracture in his right hand.
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Reference #18.9ee70b17.1773935272.ff5be9b
https://errors.edgesuite.net/18.9ee70b17.1773935272.ff5be9b