 Iran gave new orders to proxy groups in the Middle East to attack the U.S. military in Iraq and Syria. Iranian officials have called on the proxy terrorist groups they support throughout the Middle East to tone down attacks on the U.S. for fear of a more direct conflict with the American military, according to Fox News. It is noted that Iran began the drawback following the U.S. response to an attack that killed three U.S. soldiers operating at a base in Jordan earlier this month. Since the U.S. retaliated with a wave of strikes, there have been no Iran-backed attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and just two in Syria, according to the New York Times. In comparison, the U.S. weathered well over 100 attacks between mid-October and the beginning of February. They are scared of direct confrontation with the U.S. They know that if Americans are killed again, it would mean war. Christina Azadi, an Iran security expert at George Washington University, told the Times, they had to put the brakes on the militia and convince them that a war with the U.S. could harm Tehran first and then by extension the entire axis. Iran supports and influences a faction in virtually every Middle East conflict, beginning with its financial and military support for Hamas in Gaza. Tehran also funds terrorist groups operating in Iraq and Syria. It also influences Hezbollah, the terrorist organization operating in Lebanon to Israel's north. Brigadier General Esmael Ghani, commander-in-chief of the Iranian Quds forces, traveled to Iraq to meet with leaders of militia groups and offer new plans to avoid outright war with the U.S. The Times reported, citing two Iranian officials. The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations told Al-Arabiya English that Iran is the world's biggest state sponsor of terrorism, as Tehran-backed Palestinian, Lebanese and Yemeni armed groups continue to engage with Israel in a months-long conflict that erupted after the October 7th attack. John Bolton, who was the national security adviser under Donald Trump and also served under American presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, said that Tehran's involvement with these proxy groups in the Middle East is part of slain Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qassem Soleimani's Ring of Fire strategy aimed at isolating and encircling Israel, stating that the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas is wider already. Bolton accused Iran of arming its proxies with the intention of using them when Tehran would be ready for conflict. I think Iran has its hand on every spinning plate in the Middle East. I don't think Hamas woke up one morning and said, let's attack Israel. The former U.S. official said he advocated for making the Ayatollahs in Iran pay by establishing deterrence, a reference to Iran's clerical rulers. It may well be necessary in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East to make the Ayatollahs in Iran pay a price for their aggression. We need to be prepared to do it. If you're not prepared to use force, you can never establish deterrence, which is the real key to peace and security, Bolton said. Turkish cargo ship hit by Russian missile strike. A Turkish general cargo vessel that was stranded in Ukraine since the beginning of the war about two years ago is now the last victim. The Turkish media has reportedly confirmed that the vessel was impaired in the most recent assault on the Kursan region by Russia. Its owner reported that on February the 27th two Russian missiles simultaneously hit the starboard side of the ship standing at the berth. The cargo ship has tilted to starboard and is being kept from flooding by mooring ropes. There is no information yet about the number of crew on board. The ship arrived at the port on February the 22nd 2022 and cannot leave it due to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Efforts to have the vessel released became unfruitful as Kursan wasn't part of the grain deal or the Ukraine-based corridor. It belongs to the Kuruglu-Denislik company which has an office in Istanbul. According to her representative, it is only a matter of time before the mooring cables break and the ship sinks. Kuruglu-3 was built in 1990, has a length of 109 meters, a width of 16 meters and a dead weight of 7,630 tons. A spokesperson on behalf of the ship owners and the operators association informed the Turkish media that they believed 60 foreign flagged vessels were stranded at Ukrainian ports. A few of the vessels stranded in Ukraine could access the corridor established in August last year and departed. However, the ones beyond the primary three ports could not leave.