The Wire - March 11, 2026

0:00This is the wire for 2300 Zulu, March 11th, 2026. Presence is routine, information cut off is 2200, bottom on a front, multiple ships targeted by Iranians in Strait of Hormuz, Iranian drone strikes reported in Oman, possible terror attack occurs in Switzerland. Beginning with international events, in the Middle East, drone attacks throughout the Persian Gulf continue as before, with significant strikes being reported at the port city of Salala in Oman this morning. All drones target at the oil storage tanks near the port which have been burning throughout the day. In the Strait of Hormuz, this morning three merchant vessels were struck by Iranian munitions and the vicinity of the waterway. Two vessels were struck off the coast of Dubai and Razzal-Kayma, one of which was a container ship that sustained unspecified damage. To the northeast, another vessel, the Meirinari, was struck while attempting to transit the Strait, which caused a fire that has since been extinguished. The crew of this vessel has reportedly abandoned ship in the hours after the strike and three crew members remain missing. In addition to the threats posed by drones and missiles, concerns are growing regarding

1:02the possibility that the Strait may have been mined. President Trump indicated that the Iranians may have attempted to target vessels with naval mines over the past few days, however statements by American officials so far have been inconclusive as to whether or not any mines have actually been laid. Due to this uncertainty, it would be wise for shipping companies to assume that at least some asymmetric naval capability exists within the Iranian Navy. In Switzerland yesterday evening, an attack was reported on board a city bus in the town of Cairz's. When a sailant set himself on fire while sitting on the bus, killing six people during the attack and wounding five others, analysts comment. So far, very little information has been released regarding this attack. The assailant has not been identified and it may take some time for any potential motive to emerge. Due to the mass casualties that were caused by this incident, this incident should be considered a terror attack until more information comes to light. On the home front in Washington D.C., this morning a vehicle ramming incident was reported at the White House which involved an SUV attempting to ram through the barricades at the corner of Connecticut and H Street. No injuries were reported and the driver was arrested at the scene.

2:06No word yet on what caused the incident or if this was a delivered attack. Analysts comments for this wire, indications and warnings are mounting that missile defenses throughout the Middle East may be dwindling. Over the past few days, civilian aircraft have been repositioned from airports around the region and several airlines have canceled flights throughout the region, such as KLM which has halted flights to Dubai until March 28th. As airspace opens up between waves of drone attacks, many commercial and private aircraft owners are taking the opportunity to get their airframes out of harm's way. As a result of these developments, many locals believe this is an indicator of interceptor missiles running dry and thus what seemed like a fairly tepid war by comparison might suddenly get more active if the interceptions of drones become less common. This is obviously pure speculation based on an unknown factor. The true number of air defenses any nation has is a closely guarded secret. The same theory applies around the region from Israel to Kuwait with nearly all nations involved heavily suppressing any social media posts referencing successful Iranian targeting efforts.

3:06Nevertheless, the truth eventually gets out and what can be observed is that the drones still fly and interceptions are not always successful and that success rate may be decreasing if the data provided is accurate. Following the United Arab Emirates as an example, it is true that drone attacks targeting the nation have decreased over the past two days. From the start of the war, Dubai has fended off about 100 drones and roughly a dozen ballistic missiles each day. Over the past couple of days, the total number of reported drone attacks have dwindled to about one third of what has been normal since the start of the war. However, the number of successful interceptions have also dwindled too. Of the 35 drones detected yesterday, only 26 were intercepted, with nine drones impacting within the country. Whether or not they hit their intended targets is unknown, however, this many drones making it through defenses on D plus 11 is substantially important. This also confirms that Iranian forces maintain enough operational effectiveness to conduct over the horizon targeting, causing just enough trouble to make the fight costly in the long run. This concludes the war for 2300 Zulu, March 11th, 2026.