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U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 7.

• War related casualty estimates from various governments and organizations include, as of yesterday: at least 1,230 deaths in Iran, including more than 160 killed in a strike that hit a school in the city of Minab; 11 deaths in Israel; 102 deaths, 638 injuries, and more than 80,000 people displaced in Lebanon; 10 deaths in Kuwait; one death in Bahrain; one foreign mariner death off the coast of Oman; and six US service members killed. [more]
• Reuters cites unnamed U.S. officials as saying investigations suggest U.S. forces were likely responsible for an apparent airstrike on an Iranian girls' school on Saturday in which more than 160 people are believed to have been killed. [more]
• Military leaders in both the US and Israel have indicated that operations in Iran are expected to "surge dramatically" in the near future. [more]
• U.S. President Donald Trump said this morning that there will be no deal to end the war in Iran except the "unconditional surrender" of Iran. [more]
• The ongoing near-shutdown of oil and natural gas exports from the Gulf region due to the war in Iran is continuing to affect prices, with gasoline in the U.S. rising to an average of $3.13 as of this morning and benchmark Brent crude oil prices spiking to a two-year high of $90.13 a barrel. Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi suggested this morning that war in the Middle East could cause nearly all Gulf energy exports to shut down within weeks, driving global oil prices to $150 per barrel. [more]
• The United Arab Emirates is reportedly moving to freeze Iranian assets in the country after having been targeted by more than 1,000 Iranian missiles and drones during the ongoing war. [more]
• According to Iranian state media, the country's leadership council, consisting of President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, and cleric Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi, has begun discussing plans to convene Iran's Assembly of Experts to select a new supreme leader. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | According to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning, the U.S. economy lost an estimated 92,000 jobs in February – an unexpected net job loss after economists had predicted a net gain of 60,000 jobs for the month. The overall unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in February, up from 4.3% in January, according to the government data. [full report] [more]

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY | President Donald Trump yesterday removed Kristi Noem from her position as Secretary of Homeland Security amidst mounting criticism over her leadership of the department, handling of immigration enforcement, and approval of a $220 million ad campaign promoting the administration's immigration policies. Trump announced that he is naming Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to serve as DHS secretary and that Noem will now serve in a newly created security initiative role as "Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas." [more]

EPSTEIN INVESTIGATIONS | The U.S. Justice Department released previously withheld Jeffrey Epstein investigation files yesterday that contain uncorroborated accusations a woman made against now-President Donald Trump in FBI interviews in 2019. The Department says the interview documents – in which the woman claimed to have been sexually abused by Trump and Epstein when she was a minor – were mistakenly withheld from previous releases of Epstein-related files. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | More than 20 U.S. states filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to block 15% tariffs on goods from most of the world that President Donald Trump said he planned to impose after his previous tariff program was struck down by the Supreme Court. [more]

U.S. MILITARY AND AI | Artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has been informed that the company itself and its products have been officially designated a "supply chain risk," according to a Department of Defense statement released yesterday. The move comes after Anthropic refused to allow its AI models to be used for autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance of Americans. Reports note that the supply chain risk designation is intended for use in defending against foreign adversaries and has never before been applied to a U.S. company. [more]

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE | The Associated Press cites U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner as saying in an interview that the U.S. Postal Service will run out of funds by February 2027, with potentially dire consequences for mail delivery, unless Congress lifts a decades-old cap and allows the agency to borrow more money. [more]

U.S. AND CUBA | In what analysts suggest could be an indicator of his next priority after the ongoing war in Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview this morning that "Cuba is going to fall pretty soon," and that he plans to dispatch Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the Caribbean island nation for talks. [more]

U.S. AND LATIN AMERICA | U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to host numerous leaders of Latin American nations this weekend at his Florida resort for a summit dubbed the "Shield of Americas." Analysts say the summit is part of Trump's initiative to exert U.S. leadership in the Americas and influence regional nations' foreign policy. [more]

U.S. AND MEXICO | Ahead of a formal review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, trade deal later this year, Mexican and U.S. officials announced yesterday that they will begin bilateral trade talks on March 16. [more]

U.S. AND VENEZUELA | Following Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's removal from power in January, the U.S. and Venezuela announced yesterday that they will reestablish diplomatic relations, which were suspended in 2019. [more]

FINLAND | Citing the need for full participation in NATO security planning, Finland announced yesterday that it plans to lift its decades-old ban on hosting nuclear weapons. Responding to the Finnish announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the presence of nuclear weapons in Finland would threaten Russia and that "if Finland threatens us, we take appropriate measures." [more]

GLOBAL CRITICAL MINERALS | Speaking before the United Nations Security Council yesterday, U.N. Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said that demand for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel used in technologies ranging from smartphones to missiles could triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2040. DiCarlo noted that there was about $2.5 trillion in global trade of the minerals in 2023, representing more than 10% of global trade. [more]

U.K. AND IRAN | London's Metropolitan Police says four men – one Iranian and three dual British-Iranian nationals – were arrested today in north London on suspicion of assisting Iran in spying on locations and individuals associated with the U.K. Jewish community. Reports cite the head of Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service, Ken McCallum, as saying in recent months that more than 20 “potentially lethal Iran-backed plots” had been disrupted in the U.K. over the past year. [more]

INDONESIA | Citing risks related to pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud, and addiction, Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid announced new government regulations today that will ban social media accounts for children under the age of 16. The ban, which Hafid said would be gradually implemented starting March 28, will include accounts on platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox. [more]

KOSOVO | President Vjosa Osmani announced plans today to dissolve Kosovo's parliament in preparation for early elections after lawmakers failed to elect her successor following a snap election in December. [more]

BASKETBALL | In a 120-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets last night, Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James made his 15,838th NBA career field goal, surpassing the record set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1989. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1836, the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, fell as Mexican forces led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna stormed the fortress after a 13-day siege. The battle claimed the lives of all the Texan defenders, including William Travis, James Bowie, and Davy Crockett. [more history]