Early Edition: March 3, 2026

A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:

IRAN WAR 

U.S.-Israeli attacks have killed at least 787 people in Iran since Saturday, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. The agency added that 1,039 attacks have been recorded and 504 sites have been hit. Overnight, the U.S.-Israeli joint operation pounded Tehran, and other parts of Iran, with airstrikes. The Israeli military said today that it has struck Iran’s Presidential Office and Supreme National Security Council building. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News; Enjoli Liston reports for the New York Times.

Six U.S. service members have been killed in the first three days of the war, U.S. Central Command said yesterday. Helen Cooper reports for the New York Times. 

At least 30,000 displaced people have sought protection in shelters in Lebanon since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reignited yesterday, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said. Emma Farge reports for Reuters. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency said today that Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site sustained “some recent damage” amid the U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign which began on Saturday. The IAEA added that “no radiological consequence [was] expected.” Jon Gambrell reports for AP News.

Iranian drone strikes hit the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia this morning, the Saudi Defense Ministry announced. Yesterday, a drone attack caused a fire in the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait, according to two U.S. officials. The U.S. State Department has now closed both embassies, and urged non-emergency personnel and families to leave 14 countries in the Middle East. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News; Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Aaron Boxerman, Helene Cooper, and Yan Zhuang report for the New York Times. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said yesterday that Iran is not at war with the region and is only targeting Israel and U.S. military bases. However, Iranian drones have struck civilian targets, such as tourist areas of Dubai. Arab sources told Axios that Iran’s actions are pushing several neighbouring countries to consider retaliating directly against Iran. Barak Ravid reports.

France plans to send anti-missile and anti-drone systems to Cyprus after RAF Akrotiri, a British air base, was targeted in two separate drone strikes, the Cyprus News Agency said today. A Cypriot government source confirmed the report. Senior Cypriot officials said that the attack was carried out by an Iranian Shahed drone, most likely fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain would not be joining the U.S.-Israeli strikes and Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer stressed that “the U.K. is not at war.” Michele Kambas reports for Reuters; Jill Lawless and Menelaos Hadjicostis report for AP News. 

IRAN WAR – POLITICAL RESPONSE 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters yesterday that “the hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military,” echoing President Trump’s comments that the fighting in Iran may go on for “four to five weeks.” “The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now,” Rubio added, ahead of yesterday’s classified briefing with senior members of Congress in which he justified U.S. strikes as a response to an imminent threat from Iran. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. military was sending more troops and fighter jets to the Middle East. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that there are currently no U.S. troops in Iran, but did not rule out the possibility. Rubio, Hegseth, Caine, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe will hold an all-Congress briefing today, according to the White House. Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times; Justin Papp reports for CNBC.

“I hear the people are saying you’re going to have an endless war. You’re not going to have an endless war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday during an interview with Fox News. Netanyahu also praised Trump, saying “there’s never been a president like him. His resoluteness, his decisiveness, his clarity of thinking, the way he gets things, gets right to the crux of things.” Aaron Pellish reports for POLITICO.

Trump on Sunday spoke by phone with Kurdish leaders in Iraq to discuss the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and what might come next, three sources told Axios. “It is the general view, and certainly Netanyahu’s view, that the Kurds are going to come out of the woodwork…that they’re going to rise up,” one official said. Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo report.

Iran and its proxies could target the United States with attacks in response to Saturday’s killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment, dated Feb. 28, reviewed by Reuters. The report said that a large-scale physical attack was unlikely, adding that in the short term cyber-attacks are the main concern. Jana Winter reports.

A White House memo sent to Republican lawmakers yesterday set out four military objectives for the operation in Iran, including “annihilating” Iran’s navy, and ensuring that Iran can never produce a nuclear weapon. The memo described the death of Khamenei as a “byproduct” of those aims. The memo also states, “though the regime has changed, this operation is about ending the threat posed to the United States by the Iranian regime.” Meredith Lee Hill reports for POLITICO. 

[Editors’ note: Readers may be interested in Tess Bridgeman, Kate Brannen and Ryan Goodman, Top Questions the Trump Administration Needs to Answer on War with Iran – What Congress, journalists, and the public should ask, Just Security, March 2, 2026] 

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR 

Gaza is running out of its limited fuel supply and food stocks as Israel closed all crossings on Saturday, citing the war with Iran, according to officials. Gaza is ​wholly dependent on fuel brought in by trucks from Israel and Egypt and a lack of fresh ​supplies would put hospital operations at risk and threaten water and sanitation services, local officials said. Israeli authorities said late last night that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza today for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid.” Nidal al-Mughrabi and Pesha Magid report for Reuters.  

WEST BANK VIOLENCE

Israeli settlers fatally shot two Palestinian brothers in the occupied West Bank yesterday, according to local residents and the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Isabel Kershner and Fatima AbdulKarim report for the New York Times.  

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS 

French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday announced that France would expand its nuclear arsenal and deepen cooperation with European neighbours to deter attacks. “What I want more than anything, as you will have understood, is for Europeans to gain control of their own destiny,” Macron said. Mark Landler reports for the New York Times.  

Fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan carried on yesterday at multiple points along their border. 42 civilians in Afghanistan have been killed in the six-day conflict with Pakistan, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said. Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Saad Sayeed, and Asif Shahzad report for Reuters.  

At least 169 people, including senior officials, were killed on Sunday when a group of unidentified men launched an assault on South Sudan’s Ruweng Administrative Area, according to Ruweng’s Information Minister James Monyluak Mijok. The Minister alleged that the men came from the neighbouring Unity state and were linked to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition. The SPLA-IO has denied any involvement in the attack. BBC News reports.  

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

The United States yesterday imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s military, accusing them of backing the M23 rebel group and violating the Washington Accords peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “President Trump is the Peace President and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to ensure that the parties to the Washington Accords uphold their obligations,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Matthew Mpoke Bigg reports for the New York Times.  

First lady Melania Trump yesterday presided over a U.N. Security Council meeting and delivered a speech advocating for “peace through education.” She said that nations should promote the values of tolerance and “empathy for others, transcending geography, religion, race, gender” and denounced “rigid thinkers who embrace prejudice and shun human dignity.” Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times.  

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet with Trump in Washington today. “We’re not going to be lecturing our partners on their military strikes against Iran,” Merz said, adding “despite all the doubts, we share many of their aims.” James Mackenzie reports for Reuters.  

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS

“We must focus immediately on implementing the most urgent and necessary transformations to the [Cuban] economic and social model,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said. In a speech to the Council of Ministers, Díaz-Canel said municipalities and the private sector required more autonomy and urged for more foreign investment in the energy sector, as the U.S. oil blockade has severely worsened the humanitarian crisis in Cuba. Luis Ferré-Sadurní and David C. Adams report for the New York Times.  

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty yesterday announced the creation of the Transparency and Accountability Project, which will give citizens the ability to submit evidence of potential unlawful behaviour by federal agents in Minnesota. The project, staffed by county prosecutors and a civilian investigator, is already investigating 17 incidents, including the use of chemical irritants by Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino. Jeff Day reports for the Minnesota Star Tribune.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS

The Supreme Court yesterday temporarily blocked California from using policies that generally bar public-school teachers from outing transgender students to their parents. Lindsay Whitehurst reports for AP News.  

Trump yesterday confirmed that he will attend this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Julianna Bragg reports for Axios.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS 

OpenAI announced yesterday that its agreement with the Pentagon was amended to say its AI systems “shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals,” in line with relevant federal laws. The Defense Department said in a statement that it “will always come to the table for reasonable discussion as we did with OpenAI. Anthropic didn’t want to do that, because they have their own personal vendettas.” Cade Metz and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times.

The Trump administration is hiring people to help close down the U.S. Agency for International Development, but specifically precluded former U.S.A.I.D employees from working for the contractor that will carry this out, according to a Jan. 6 memo. Eileen Sullivan reports for the New York Times.  

A National Park Service database, reviewed by the Washington Post, reveals that hundreds of exhibits, signs, books, and films at national parks have been flagged under the Trump administration order to remove “partisan ideology” or content seen as “disparaging,” including materials on slavery, civil rights, climate change, and racial violence. The database does not make clear which of the entries will be removed or recast by the Interior Department. “The narrative being advanced is false and these draft, deliberative internal ​documents are not a representation of final action taken by the department,” ​an Interior Department spokesperson said. Karin Brulliard and Brady Dennis report; Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

A federal judge yesterday ruled that the Homeland Security Department may not bar members of Congress from making unannounced visits to ICE detention facilities. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.  

The Justice Department said it was dropping its appeals defending Trump’s executive orders sanctioning several law firms, according to a court filing. Erin Mulvaney and C. Ryan Barber report for the Wall Street Journal.