The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran enters its 26th day as the Pentagon reports that as many as 3,000 U.S. troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are expected to be deployed, in addition to the 50,000 troops already present in the Middle East. President Trump on Tuesday claimed that negotiations to end the war are happening “right now” and that Iran agreed to “never” have a nuclear weapon. He also touted a significant “present” from Iran without specifying.

President Donald Trump: “They did something yesterday that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present, and the present arrived today. It was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money. And I’m not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize. And they gave it to us, and they said they were going to give it.”

Iran flat-out rejected that it was negotiating with the U.S. That’s despite reports that President Trump was seeking a monthlong ceasefire to discuss his 15-point plan to end the war. Pakistani officials confirmed this morning that Iran had received Trump’s 15-point ceasefire proposal. This is Ebrahim Zolfaqari, the spokesperson for Iran’s joint military command.

Ebrahim Zolfaqari: “Has the level of your internal discord reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves? There will be neither any sign of your investments in the region, nor will you see previous energy and oil prices, until you understand this: Stability in the region is guaranteed by the powerful hand of our armed forces.”

This comes as Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr was appointed as Iran’s new security chief, replacing Ali Larijani, whom Israel killed in an attack last week. Meanwhile, Israel and Iran continue to exchange airstrikes. The Israeli military says it needs several more weeks of fighting to complete its war goals in Iran, two Israeli military officials told NPR on Tuesday. The International Atomic Energy Agency says it has been informed by Iran that a projectile struck the premises of the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Iran’s armed forces say they have carried out drone attacks targeting a facility of Israel’s Rafael weapons firm in Haifa.

​​Iran continues to launch retaliatory strikes against Gulf nations hosting U.S. military bases. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia intercepted missiles and drones today. In Kuwait, drones targeted a ​fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, ​causing a ​fire. Meanwhile, The New York Times is reporting that Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been pushing President Trump to continue the war. The Wall Street Journal reports that both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are getting closer to a decision to join U.S. attacks on Iran.

The Philippines has declared a national energy emergency in response to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, saying the country has only 45 days of fuel left. It comes as transport workers, commuters and consumer groups in the country plan to hold a two-day strike starting tomorrow to protest the increase in fuel prices. The Philippines imports 90% of its oil from the Middle East. Meanwhile, South Korea launched a campaign to save energy nationwide on Tuesday, urging people to take shorter showers, ride bicycles for short trips, avoid charging phones and electric vehicles at night, and to use washing machines and vacuum cleaners only on weekends. South Korea imports around 70% of its crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked in response to the U.S.-Israeli bombardment.

Lebanon expelled Iran’s newly appointed ambassador to the country on Tuesday. Hezbollah, which receives funding from Iran, called it a “grave national and strategic mistake.” This comes as Israel says that it plans to seize parts of southern Lebanon to create what it called a “defensive buffer” against Hezbollah. The Israeli military continues to bomb bridges and demolish homes in southern Lebanon. Lebanese authorities say that Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,000 people since March 2, and more than 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes. On Tuesday, the United Nations condemned Israel’s war on Lebanon.

Stéphane Dujarric: “Yes, we worry about the increased rhetoric that we’re seeing. We worry about the continuing — the continuing military activity that we’re seeing. The territorial integrity of Lebanon needs to be respected. The government of Lebanon needs to be respected.”

Russia launched a huge wave of nearly 1,000 drones at Ukraine, killing at least seven people on Tuesday. The rare daytime assault struck several civilian sites, including a 16th-century church in Lviv, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This comes as Russia said last week that talks on ending the war in Ukraine were on a “situational pause” because of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

A report by The New York Times has revealed new details about the violent arrest of an immigrant woman from Guatemala and her 9-year-old daughter inside the San Francisco International Airport Sunday. Documents obtained by the Times show the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, has been sharing personal information with ICE about domestic airport travelers who may have deportation orders. Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter, Wendy Godinez-Lopez, were reportedly flagged by TSA to ICE when they appeared on a passenger list. Lopez-Jimenez is seen crying as agents pin her down before dragging and restraining her in a wheelchair. The mother and daughter first came to the U.S. in 2018. They were put on a deportation flight bound for Guatemala on Tuesday, after videos of the incident went viral. The Trump administration deployed ICE agents to over a dozen airports nationwide Monday amid persistent staffing shortages within TSA caused by the partial government shutdown. TSA workers have gone without pay for more than one month, as Congress continues to debate on a funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security. At least 450 TSA officers have quit their jobs since the partial shutdown began on February 14.

CNN is reporting that pilots repeatedly pleaded with NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System to address safety concerns in New York’s LaGuardia Airport for months before a deadly airplane crash Sunday left two people dead. Last summer, a pilot wrote to the agency to “Please do something,” after air traffic controllers at LaGuardia reportedly failed to disclose that other airplanes were nearby. Similar reports issued just months apart also described how LaGuardia air traffic controllers issued inaccurate instructions that led to near collisions, with some complaints warning the issues at LaGuardia were similar to what could have caused the January 2025 midair collision near Ronald Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people. The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that long lines at LaGuardia Airport’s security checkpoints, due to TSA shortages, had delayed investigators from arriving at the scene of the deadly collision on Sunday when an Air Canada Express plane collided with a fire truck. The National Transportation Safety Board also said that the fire truck did not have a transponder, which was needed to trigger the warning system before the deadly crash.

A jury in New Mexico on Tuesday ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties for knowingly harming children and concealing child sexual exploitation on its platforms. The verdict followed a seven-week trial stemming from a 2023 lawsuit brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who accused Meta of violating state consumer protection laws and misleading the public about risks to the mental health of teen users. The $375 million penalty is less than one-fifth of what prosecutors were seeking. Meta says it will appeal the decision. It’s the first time the company has been held accountable in a jury trial over harm to children on its platforms.

A group of eight architecture and cultural organizations have sued President Trump and his handpicked board of trustees at the Kennedy Center over planned renovations at the center set to begin in just a few months. The groups want to ensure that the White House and Trump’s Kennedy Center board comply with existing historic preservation laws and secure approval from Congress before starting the renovations. The lawsuit says Trump’s so-called renovations wish “to fundamentally alter this iconic property without complying with bedrock federal historic preservation and environmental laws, and without securing the necessary Congressional authorization.” Last month, the Kennedy Center’s board voted to close the venue for two years for a $250 million renovation.

In Florida, Democrat Emily Gregory flipped a Republican-held Florida state House seat Tuesday in a district that includes President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Gregory defeated Trump-endorsed Republican Jon Maples in a district Trump won by 11 points in 2024. The previous Republican, Mike Caruso, had won the seat by 19 percentage points just last year. Trump voted by mail in the race, despite frequently denouncing voting by mail as “cheating.” Democrats have now flipped 29 state legislative seats from Republican control since Trump took office.

Minnesota officials have sued the Trump administration for access to evidence needed for an independent investigation into the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and another nonfatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis. Minnesota state officials are seeking a court order demanding the Trump administration comply with the state’s probe. Meanwhile, Trump administration officials claim Minnesota does not have the jurisdiction to investigate the shootings. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said, “This is extremely unusual. This is something that is arbitrary, capricious, it is coming from Washington, and it has scary implications for other parts of the country.”

In Argentina, thousands marched through the capital Buenos Aires Tuesday to mark 50 years since a U.S.-backed military coup in 1976 overthrew President Isabel Perón and established one of the bloodiest dictatorships in Latin America. An estimated 30,000 people were forcibly disappeared by state armed forces during Argentina’s “Dirty War,” which lasted until 1983. The current government of right-wing Argentine President Javier Milei has slashed funding for human rights groups investigating crimes that occurred during the dictatorship. This is Nestor Di Milia, a retired teacher, speaking from Buenos Aires.

Nestor Di Milia: “At the time of the coup, there was also a deindustrialization of the Argentine economy. And, well, like every year, we will continue fighting so that there is memory, truth and justice and that we can have a better government in the future.”