Up First from NPR
Iran War, Political Violence in US, New Action on Housing Affordability
14 Mar 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What are the latest developments in the Iran conflict?
The situation in Iran is going very well. A lot of big hits today, a lot of big wins today.
Some of those big hits, military sites on Hark Island. I'm Aisha Roscoe.
And I'm Scott Simon, and this is Up First from NPR News.
Park Island is important for Iran's oil industry. In a moment, the latest in the war.
Also, three separate incidents of political violence in the last eight days against protesters in New York, a synagogue in Michigan, and at a Virginia university. Are there any links between them?
And President Trump's latest executive orders geared toward making home ownership affordable.
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Chapter 2: How are the strikes on Khark Island impacting Iran's oil industry?
We have details.
So please stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your weekend.
At this year's Oscars, one battle after another took home the award for Best Picture, Michael B. Jordan won for Lead Actor, and the telecast had plenty of jokes at Timothee Chalamet's expense. Listen to a recap on Pop Culture Happy Hour via the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
It's now been two weeks of the war with Iran, a war that's widened to include several countries in the Gulf as well as Lebanon.
The death toll is rising, with the latest number out of Iran at more than 1,300 people killed, according to Iranian officials.
Overnight, President Trump says the U.S. struck an island critical to Iran's oil industry. Iran has vowed retaliation.
And an Iraqi security official, unnamed because he's not authorized to speak publicly, tells NPR that an airstrike hit a radar installation at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. NPR's Carrie Khan is in Tel Aviv. Carrie, thanks for being with us.
Thanks for having me.
And let's begin. What do we know about strikes on that Iranian island?
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Chapter 3: What incidents of political violence have occurred in the U.S. recently?
President Trump says the strikes on Khark Island only hit military sites, but he said oil facilities could be next if Iran continues to interfere with ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that 20% of the world's oil supply passes through. Haqqa Island is off the coast of Iran. It's in the northern Persian Gulf. 90% of Iran's crude exports are handled there.
Iran's military quickly threatened retaliation and said it would turn oil and energy firms working with the U.S. in the region into, quote, a pile of ashes. And while a weakened Iran is still launching missiles and drones at several Gulf nations, Already today, Dubai and Bahrain are reporting aerial infiltrations.
Yesterday, Saudi Arabia's defense minister says it intercepted nearly a dozen drones.
Chapter 4: Are there connections between recent political violence incidents in the U.S.?
The intensity of the war and the rhetoric remain heightened in the region. Is there any sign that Iranian leadership seems to be softening after a couple of weeks of bombing?
Chapter 5: What executive orders has President Trump signed regarding housing affordability?
Well, I'll tell you that yesterday, Iran's leaders were out in public. The government brought out thousands to an annual pro-Palestinian rally in a huge square in Tehran. Even the president and the head of the regime's feared security forces were there. The head of the forces, he's actually listed on this new bounty the U.S.
put out offering up to $10 million for information on top Iranian officials. Here's a bit of that rally from state TV, and you're going to hear an airstrike hit very close to the crowd. Thank you very much. And the crowd doesn't disperse, and instead you hear people chanting defiantly against Israel and the U.S. Iran is sustaining relentless air assaults.
Israel says overnight it hit numerous command centers of the regime's security apparatus. U.N. 's defense secretary says it's obliterated Iran's navy and has near total control of Iranian airspace. But in Israel, the number of missiles and drones from Iran have dropped dramatically.
Although yesterday, a cluster missile from Iran did spark fires in several areas and several sites in central Israel.
And of course, you're reporting from Israel. What are you able to pick up about the goals Israel might have in this war?
Leaders here are moving away from talking about regime change as the goal of the war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his first press conference since the war this week, and he pretty much said, regime change probably not happening. Expect just a weakened regime.
An official in the region who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly told NPR that Israel is estimating one more week of fighting in Iran. The official said Israel is working on
preparing the public here to accept the government's new line that this will not be a war leading to Iranian leadership change, but a war that puts Israel in a much better security situation. And Israel is also relentlessly striking in its other front across the border in Lebanon. That has led to a devastating humanitarian crisis there.
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Chapter 6: What challenges are currently affecting the U.S. housing market?
One in seven are now displaced, and that's according to a leading international refugee organization. There is a lot of concern about Israel expanding further into Lebanon. That same official in the region told NPR that Israel is not ruling out an expanded ground operation in southern Lebanon.
NPR's Kerry Kahn in Tel Aviv. Thanks so much for being with us, Kerry.
You're welcome.
Three separate incidents in the U.S. since last Saturday have been marked as political violence. Two are being investigated as acts of terrorism.
NPR's domestic extremism correspondent Odette Youssef joins us now to sort through an attack on a synagogue in a suburb of Detroit, an attempted attack on anti-Muslim protesters in New York, and a shooting at a university in Virginia. Odette, thanks for being with us.
Thanks, Scott.
What is the latest we know about all these attacks?
Well, the synagogue attack in Michigan involved a naturalized Lebanese-American citizen who NPR has learned lost two brothers last week to an Israeli strike in Lebanon, and his parents and sisters-in-law were also wounded there. Security at the synagogue shot and killed him. Nobody else died in that incident.
Earlier on that same day, a gunman shot and killed someone at Old Dominion University in Virginia. He also died at the scene. There is still more to learn about this person, Scott, but he did serve time in prison after pleading guilty about a decade ago to providing material support for ISIS, the Islamic State.
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