Up First from NPR
Iran Attacks Energy Targets, DHS Confirmation Hearing, Cesar Chavez Abuse Allegations
19 Mar 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Israel and Iran struck both sides of the world's largest natural gas field.
Chapter 2: What triggered Iran's attack on energy targets?
Energy prices spiked. Even President Trump kept his distance from the attacks. How much farther will the escalation go? I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. The president's pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security faced a tense confirmation hearing.
Chapter 3: How did the DHS confirmation hearing unfold?
Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen promised a, quote, better approach on immigration enforcement. I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as Secretary of Homeland, I'll be protecting everybody. What, if anything, does he want to change? And allegations that the late labor leader Cesar Chavez sexually abused girls are leading to a reexamination of his legacy.
Chapter 4: What were the main points of contention during Markwayne Mullin's hearing?
How are people responding to these revelations?
Chapter 5: What allegations have emerged against Cesar Chavez?
Stay with us.
Chapter 6: How are the allegations against Chavez impacting his legacy?
We'll give you the news you need to start your day. These days, it feels like the news changes every hour. Well, NPR has a podcast that does that too.
Chapter 7: What responses have politicians given to the Chavez allegations?
NPR News Now brings you a fresh five-minute episode every hour of the day with the latest, most important headlines in episodes that are clear, fact-based, and easy to digest. Listen to NPR News Now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. An exchange of fire across the Persian Gulf has exposed the danger to the world's energy supplies.
The market showed it, too, as oil prices spiked again. First, Israeli airstrikes hit an Iranian complex that is part of the world's largest natural gas reserve. Then Iran retaliated, blasting the world's largest liquefied natural gas plant in Qatar. How much farther could this go? To talk about that, we're joined by NPR's international correspondent, Aya Batraoui in Dubai. Good morning, Aya.
Chapter 8: How are labor groups reacting to the Chavez accusations?
Good morning, Leila. So, Aya, how did all this unfold? So Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps says the Israelis attacked the South Pars gas field and they called this a big mistake. And then they published a list of oil and gas sites in Saudi Arabia, the UAE where I am, and Qatar that it would target in response. And sure enough, last night, its missiles hit some of those targets.
And that includes the Ras Lafen industrial site in Qatar. This is the world's largest liquefied natural gas complex. And it is Qatar's crown jewel. I mean, this is the wealth of this tiny nation. And it burned last night. Many countries have investments in this complex, totaling tens of billions of dollars. Qatar Energy says the damage was extensive.
Now, Qatar says Iranian missiles also struck other gas facilities in the country last night. And, Lena, this is far bigger than the scale of tit-for-tat attacks on energy that we've seen over the past two and a half weeks of this war. which had already halted Qatar's gas production and disrupted oil exports from the Gulf.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says the attack on its gas field marked a new stage of the war. And even Arab Gulf states said Israel's attack risked global energy security and they called it a dangerous escalation. It's interesting because President Trump is distancing the White House from this Israeli attack, which Israel has not yet commented on publicly. In a post on social media, he said the U.S.
knew nothing about it. What else did he have to say? Right. He said Israel, out of anger, had violently lashed out at this major gas facility. But he said there would be no more attacks made by Israel on what he called this extremely important, invaluable gas field in Iran. But Trump also said that if Iran continues attacking Qatar, the U.S.
will not hesitate to, quote, blow up the entirety of the South Pars gas field. But Leila, this is an underwater gas field Iran shares with Qatar, and a U.S. attack like that would threaten global supplies. But for its part anyway, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said if an attack like that happens again on it, it will strike energy infrastructure in the region until it is completely destroyed.
And anyways, the attacks last night, they set back Qatar's ability to resume gas production after the war. Countries like China and India rely on this gas, and it is already disrupting the production of fertilizer and polymers needed to make plastics.
And so through these counterattacks, what Iran is doing is it is inflicting pain on countries around the world, and this could lead to pressure to end this war. Now, huge consequences to these attacks that we saw. Gulf Arab states have not responded militarily to Iran's attacks since the start of the war. Is that about to change?
I mean, so far, what we saw Qatar do was expel the Iranian embassy military attaches, but they haven't cut ties with Iran. It did have warm ties with Iran before the war. Qatar was also a mediator between the U.S. and Iran before the war. I want you to have a listen to Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman, Majid al-Ansari. He was speaking to reporters last week about the need to contain this war.
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