Early Edition: March 12, 2026

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

IRAN WAR 

UNHCR today announced that up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced by the war. The agency said most have fled Tehran and other major cities towards the north of the country or rural areas. AP News reports.

“Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security, which you have destabilized,” a spokesperson for Iran’s military command said yesterday in comments directed at the United States. Two sources said Iran had deployed about a dozen mines in the Strait of Hormuz in the last few days. Trump said yesterday, “The straits are in great shape. We’ve knocked out all of their boats. They have some missiles but not very many.” Parisa Hafezi, Alexander Cornwell, and Bo Erickson report for Reuters; Jonathan Landay and Erin Banco report for Reuters.

Two oil tankers were attacked and were burning off the coast of Iraq early this morning. Iraqi authorities said the vessels had been attacked overnight by Iranian boats laden with explosives. At least one crew member was killed. Hours earlier, three other ships had been struck in the Gulf. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for at least one of those attacks, on a Thai bulk carrier that was set ablaze, which the Guards said had disobeyed their orders. Oil prices have risen again, reaching $100 a barrel. BBC News reports; Parisa Hafezi, Alexander Cornwell, and Bo Erickson report for Reuters.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said yesterday that Trump had authorized the release of 172 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserves from next week. The U.S. release is part of an effort by the 32 members of the International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels of oil held in emergency reserves. “This is a major action aimed to alleviate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets,” IEA Director Fatih Birol said yesterday. James Bikales and Carlos Anchodo report for POLITICO; Rebecca F. Elliott, Abdi Latif Dahir, Eric Schmitt, and Michael Levenson report for the New York Times.

The Israeli military unleashed another wave of heavy strikes on Beirut and its southern outskirts late last night and early this morning. The Lebanese health ministry said one of the strikes killed at least seven people and injured 21 in the Beirut neighbourhood of Ramlet al Baida. Israel also struck an apartment building in central Beirut yesterday morning. Israeli strikes have killed more than 600 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanese officials. Liam Stack and Dayana Iwaza report for the New York Times.

An ongoing military investigation has determined that the United States is responsible for a deadly Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian girls’ school, killing at least 175 people. The Feb. 28 strike on the elementary school was the result of a targeting mistake by the U.S. military, which was conducting strikes on an adjacent Iranian base of which the school building was formerly a part, according to the investigation. Officials emphasized that the findings were preliminary and that there were unanswered questions about why the outdated targeting information had not been double-checked. Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt, Tyler Pager, Malachy Browne, and Helene Cooper report for the New York Times.

A cyberattack, claimed by pro-Iran hackers, has caused a “global network disruption” to a major U.S. medical device maker, according to a statement from Stryker yesterday. The statement said there was no indication of malware or ransomware, and the company said the situation is contained to its internal Microsoft environment. The hacking group, Handala, said on social media that the hack was a retaliation for a missile strike against an elementary school in Iran. Sean Lyngaas reports for CNN.

More than 10 Iranian missiles with cluster-munition warheads have been fired at Israel since the war began on Feb. 28, according to Chief Superintendent Doron Lavi of the Israeli police’s bomb disposal unit. Cluster munitions have warheads that burst and scatter into bomblets, which can cause indiscriminate harm. Since 2008, more than 100 countries have signed an international agreement to prohibit them. Iran, Israel, and the United States have not adopted the ban. Adam Rasgon, Aaron Boxerman, and Sanjana Varghese report for the New York Times.

U.S. intelligence indicates that Iran’s leadership is still largely intact and is not at risk of collapse any time soon, according to three sources. Israeli officials have also acknowledged that there is no certainty the war will lead to the government’s collapse, a senior official told Reuters. U.S. intelligence reports also cast doubt on the ability of the Iranian Kurdish groups to sustain a fight against Iranian security services, according to two sources. Another source said that Iranian Kurdish groups had asked the United States to provide them with weapons and armored vehicles in recent days. Erin Banco and Jonathan Landay report.

The FBI warned law enforcement agencies last month that Tehran might try to retaliate for any U.S. strikes on Iran by launching surprise drone attacks in California, according to a security bulletin seen by Reuters. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said the bulletin was one of many security updates the state received daily, adding he was not aware of an “imminent threat” to California. Humeyra Pamuk, Jasper Ward, and Jana Winter report.

IRAN WAR – POLITICAL RESPONSE 

The U.N. Security Council yesterday adopted a Bahraini-led resolution condemning Iran’s regional attacks and rejected a Russian proposal seeking to end the conflict. 13 out of the 15 member countries, including the United States, Britain, and France, supported Bahrain’s resolution, proposed on behalf of six Gulf nations and Jordan. Iran’s representative called the resolution hypocritical in view of the “facts on the ground,” noting that Washington was the aggressor in the war in which at least 1,348 civilians in Iran have been killed so far. Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times.

Pentagon officials told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing on Tuesday that the estimated cost of the war against Iran had exceeded $11.3 billion in the first six days, according to three sources. The estimate did not include costs such as the buildup of military hardware and personnel ahead of the first strikes. Lawmakers expect the number to grow considerably as the Pentagon continues to calculate the costs. Catie Edmondson reports for the New York Times.

WEST BANK VIOLENCE

Six Palestinians have been killed during attacks by settlers across the occupied West Bank since the war against Iran started, according to the United Nations. While the Israeli military said it condemned the violence, the British consulate-general in Jerusalem urged the IDF to match its statements with “swift, thorough investigations and accountability for those responsible.” “Settler violence, which terrorises communities, must be stopped,” it added. An EU spokesperson also urged the Israeli government to “abide by its obligations under international law.” David Gritten reports for BBC News.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

“If [Russian President Vladimir] Putin was feeling any pressure to negotiate before, and it’s not clear he was, it’s gone for now,” an EU official told POLITICO. “The U.S. is distracted and burning through some of the weapons Europe wants to purchase for Ukraine.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that the war against Iran was “decreasing the opportunity to get more [Patriot air-defense] missiles” for Ukraine, as production cannot keep up with the new level of demand. Paul McLeary, Jack Detsch, and Chris Lunday report.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS 

Drones strikes hit Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo yesterday, killing at least three people, including a French aid worker. Goma was seized last year by M23 rebels. The Alliance Fleuve Congo / M23 yesterday blamed the attack on the DRC’s army, saying that Kinshasa had launched drones against a densely populated urban area. The DRC government acknowledged the attack late last night and said investigations were underway. Reuters reports.

A drone strike, allegedly carried out by the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, struck a secondary school and a health center in southern Sudan yesterday, killing at least 17 people, according to a hospital official and the Sudan Doctors Network. Samy Magdy reports for AP News.

Spain permanently withdrew its ambassador to Israel on Tuesday. The ambassador was first summoned back to Spain in September amid a diplomatic row over Spanish measures banning aircraft and ships carrying weapons to Israel from entering its ports or airspace due to the war in Gaza. Reuters reports.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative yesterday initiated a trade investigation into 16 countries that exhibit signs of excess manufacturing capacity.  USTR Jamieson Greer said, “If we need to impose tariffs to help solve this we will.” Greer said a separate investigation will also be initiated to examine how countries address forced labor issues. China, the EU, India, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico are among the countries that could face new tariffs following the investigations. Officials said that the investigations are likely to conclude before the current global 10% tariff expires in July. Courtenay Brown reports for Axios; David Lawder and Ismail Shakil report for Reuters.

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS 

The United States has opened its first FBI office in Ecuador, the U.S. Embassy in Quito announced yesterday. The office will aim to work with Ecuadorean officials to fight the trafficking of drugs and weapons, the embassy statement said. Reuters reports.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination criticized “intensified immigration crackdowns” in the United States and accused Trump and other U.S. leaders of using “racist hate speech,” in a report published yesterday. CERD said in a statement that hate speech and immigration crackdowns had “sparked grave human rights violations.” Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.

ICE replaced the contractor overseeing Camp East Montana and said it was planning to keep the detention center in El Paso open. A Homeland Security Department spokesperson said the new contract will allow more on-site staff, precise quality assurance, and greater ICE oversight of contractors. Douglas MacMillan reports for the Washington Post.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

A foreign hacker compromised files relating to the FBI’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein during a break-in at the FBI’s New York Field Office three years ago, according to a source and documents published by the Justice Department. The source said the hacker did not appear to realise they had penetrated a law enforcement server as the hacker expressed disgust at the presence of child abuse images on the device and left a message threatening to turn its owner over to the FBI. The source said the FBI had to convince the hacker that they actually were the FBI by having the hacker join a video call. It remains unclear who the hacker was, where they were from, and what they did with the materials accessed. Raphael Satter reports for Reuters.

Texas has excluded about two dozen Islamic schools from its new $1 billion voucher program for allegedly being linked to terrorist groups, following Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R- TX) designation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations last year. Lauren Lumpkin reports for the Washington Post.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

The Defense Department has barred press photographers from briefings on the war in Iran after they published “unflattering” photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, two sources said. Several outlets, including the Associated Press, Reuters, and Getty Images, were barred from two subsequent briefings at the Pentagon. Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement that to save space in the briefing room, “we are allowing one representative per news outlet if uncredentialed. Photographs from the briefing are immediately released online for the public and press to use.” Scott Nover reports for the Washington Post.

Trump personally directed the Justice Department to reverse its decision to drop its defense of White House sanctions against law firms last week, sources said. “I never signed off on that,” Trump said, expressing displeasure with DOJ leadership, the sources added. Josh Dawsey, C. Ryan Barber, and Sadie Gurman report for the Wall Street Journal.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

A federal judge yesterday issued a temporary restraining order halting construction work on an immigration detention center in Maryland after the state had sued, citing environmental concerns. Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.

The Trump administration yesterday asked the Supreme Court to lift a judge’s decision that blocked the administration’s move to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. Andrew Chung and John Kruzel report for Reuters.

17 Democratic-led states yesterday filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its mandate that colleges share detailed student and admissions data with the federal government, which the government has said is meant to ensure schools are not employing racial preferences. Vimal Patel and Stephanie Saul report for the New York Times.

Food stamp recipients filed a lawsuit against the Agriculture Department yesterday over restrictions barring them from using their benefits to buy sugary drinks and candy. Linda Qiu reports for the New York Times.