Early Edition: March 24, 2026

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

IRAN WAR 

Israel yesterday carried out a large wave of air strikes in central Tehran, targeting command centres, the Israeli military said. It said more than 50 additional targets were hit overnight, including ballistic missile storage and launch sites. Iran today launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, damaging a multi-storey apartment building in Tel Aviv. Reuters reports.

“We’re doing a five-day period,” President Trump told reporters yesterday about his pause on hitting Iranian power plants. “We’ll see how that goes, and if it goes well, we’re going to end up with settling this. Otherwise, we’ll just keep bombing our little hearts out.” Tyler Pager, David E. Sanger, and Farnaz Fassihi report for the New York Times.

Trump told CNN yesterday that there are 15 points of agreement between the United States and Iran after talks this weekend. Trump added that the renewed talks began soon after he threatened to bomb Iran’s energy infrastructure in retribution for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, yesterday publicly denied that any negotiations with the United States about terms to end the war were underway. In interviews, four Iranian officials said that the messages passed over recent days through intermediaries and in direct messages with U.S. envoys were simply probes on how to de-escalate the conflict. U.S. officials said the contacts were in a very early stage and not substantive. Arab mediators expressed skepticism that an agreement could be reached, noting that the two sides remained far apart. Aditi Sangal reports; Tyler Pager, David E. Sanger, and Farnaz Fassihi report for the New York Times; Summer Said, Alexander Ward, Benoit Faucon, and Laurence Norman report for the Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration is considering Iran’s parliament speaker Qalibaf as a potential negotiating partner and future leader of Iran, according to two administration officials. The sources added that the White House is not ready to commit to any one person and is hoping to stress test multiple candidates as they look for someone willing to make a deal. An Israeli official told Axios that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had been in touch with Qalibaf in recent days, adding that mediating countries were trying to convene a meeting in Islamabad with Qalibaf and a team of U.S. negotiators. Dasha Burns, Eli Stokols, and Diana Nerozzi report for POLITICO; Barak Ravid reports.

Senior U.S. military officials are weighing a possible deployment of a combat brigade of about 3,000 soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to support operations in Iran, defense officials said. If the plan goes ahead, these forces could be used to seize Iran’s Kharg Island. Officials are also considering an attack by about 2,500 troops from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is currently on its way to the region, to seize the island. Greg Jaffe and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.

IRAN WAR – POLITICAL RESPONSE 

Bahrain has put forward a draft U.N. Security Council resolution, backed by Gulf states and the United States, that would authorize countries to use “all necessary means” to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, according to a text seen by Reuters yesterday. The draft text also demands that Iran “immediately cease all attacks” in the strait. An alternative draft proposal put forward by France avoids naming Iran and instead calls for de-escalation and diplomacy, while encouraging defensive measures such as coordinated escorts in the strait rather than authorizing force. John Irish reports.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

Russia plans to open four ground control stations for long-range attack drones in Belarus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday, citing information from Ukraine’s military intelligence service. Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine has “irrefutable” evidence that Russia continues to provide intelligence to Iran, helping the Iranian regime to strike targets more accurately. Reuters reports; Yuliia Dysa reports for Reuters.

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR 

Chad has begun emergency relocation of refugees from its border with Sudan as its army prepares to deploy in the area in response to cross-border attacks, an official from Chad’s refugee agency said yesterday. Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby last week ordered the army to prepare to retaliate after a drone attack from Sudan killed 17 people. Mahamat Ramadane reports for Reuters.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS  

Germany plans to build a €10 billion ($11.6 billion) national military satellite network independent of a parallel European programme. EU lawmakers said that Germany’s initiative risks undermining attempts to bolster collective defense capabilities. Germany envisages 100 low-Earth-orbit satellites exclusively for military communications, while the EU project, which aims to deploy 290 satellites by 2029, is designed to establish a unified, space-based communication system. Maria Rugamer and Gianluca Lo Nostro report for Reuters.

China is conducting mapping and monitoring operations across the Pacific, Indian, and Arctic oceans, according to ship-tracking data reviewed by Reuters. While officially for scientific and commercial purposes, nine naval experts say the information would be crucial for military operations against the United States and its allies. Experts say it gives Beijing a detailed picture of the maritime environment in which submarine battles will be waged if conflict erupts. Pete McKenzie reports.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

The United States has deployed drones to Nigeria, a U.S. defense official said yesterday. The MQ-9 drones were deployed after 200 U.S. troops arrived in Nigeria last month to provide training and intelligence. U.S. Africa Command said the drones can be used to carry out airstrikes but will only be used for intelligence-gathering and training in Nigeria. Monika Pronczuk reports for AP News.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

The United States and Costa Rica have signed an initial agreement for Costa Rica to accept migrants from other countries who have been deported by the United States, Costa Rica announced yesterday. Reuters reports.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

The Defense Department will remove media offices from the Pentagon, a department official announced yesterday. An area of the Pentagon known as “Correspondents’ Corridor” will be closed immediately, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said. Journalists will eventually be able to work from an annex outside the building, which Parnell said, “will be available when ready.” Under the latest rules, journalists will have access to the Pentagon for press conferences and pre-arranged interviews, but they will have to be escorted. The Pentagon Press Association said the announcement “is a clear violation of the letter and spirit of last week’s ruling,” which reinstated press credentials to seven New York Times journalists and struck down some of the agency’s restrictions on news reporting. Jonathan J. Cooper reports for AP News.

Senate Republicans told reporters yesterday that they believe they have found a path to ending the five-week Homeland Security Department shutdown after a meeting with Trump yesterday. Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Steve Daines (R-MT) put forward a plan to pass a funding bill that would fund all of DHS except specific parts of ICE, which is already funded under last year’s One Big Beautiful Act, two sources said. One source also said a new reconciliation bill to fund more of ICE and possibly include parts of the SAVE America Act was the possible vehicle after yesterday’s meeting. Jordain Carney, Mia McCarthy, and Katherine Tully McManus report for POLITICO; Hans Nichols and Kate Santaliz report for Axios.

The Senate yesterday confirmed Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security Secretary in a 54-to-45 vote. Madeleine Ngo reports for the New York Times.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS 

The Trump administration will pay $1 billion to TotalEnergies, a French company, to walk away from two U.S. offshore wind leases, the Interior Department announced yesterday. TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné said the refunded lease fees will finance the construction of a liquefied natural gas plant in Texas and the development of its oil and gas activities. Jennifer McDermott and Matthew Daly report for AP News.

The Education Department yesterday announced two new investigations into Harvard University, focusing on antisemitism on campus and its admission practices. Harvard said the actions are retaliatory as Harvard refuses to surrender its independence and constitutional rights. Michael C. Bender and Alan Blinder report for the New York Times.

A POLITICO analysis found that Trump has approved far fewer disaster aid requests from Democratic-led states (23%) than Republican-led ones (89%) since Jan. 2025. Trump rejected most of the requests even after FEMA had documented that the damage met its financial threshold to warrant receiving federal aid. Thomas Frank reports.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

Journalists at Voice of America yesterday filed a lawsuit accusing Trump administration officials of infringing on reporters’ First Amendment rights by turning the news group into a propaganda “mouthpiece” that published content favourable to Trump without editorial balance. Minho Kim and Zach Montague report for the New York Times.

The Supreme Court yesterday questioned whether challenges to counting mail-in ballots after election day, put forward by the Justice Department and the Republican National Committee, could also threaten early voting, which millions rely on. Justices expressed concern over distinguishing between late-arriving ballots and legally cast early votes, with a decision expected by late June that could impact upcoming elections. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.

Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.

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