Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Iran lashed out after the killing of its security chief.
Chapter 2: What recent events have led to Iran's retaliation?
Drones and missiles flashed across the region and over the head of our correspondent in Iraq. Iranians crossing the border out of their country say life is unbearable. I'm Michelle Martin, that's Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio talks of forcing a change in the leadership of Cuba.
Chapter 3: How is life inside Iran affecting its citizens?
They're in a lot of trouble. And the people in charge, they don't know how to fix it. So they have to get new people in charge. President Trump cut off oil to Cuba and now contends he can do whatever he wants.
Chapter 4: What is the Trump administration's strategy for Cuba?
What is the Trump administration planning?
Chapter 5: What challenges is the Federal Reserve facing today?
Also, the Federal Reserve meets today to set interest rates. The war in Iran has sent energy prices soaring, and the job market has been weakening. How does that affect their calculation? Stay with us. We've got 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.
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. Several countries across the Middle East have been shooting down Iranian missiles and drones.
The barrage is seen as Iran's response to the killing of Iran's security chief and the head of its paramilitary force. Iran said it fired multiple warhead missiles at Tel Aviv. This morning we have a glimpse of life inside Iran. It comes from people who left their country crossing the border into neighboring Iraq. NPR's Arzu Rezvani met them at a border crossing. Arzu, welcome.
Good to be with you, Steve. What did you see? So I spent a few hours at the Haji Amran border crossing. It's tucked in the mountains, which at this time of year are covered with snow. And as I was interviewing people, we spotted a couple of Iranian drones flying overhead into Iraq. Those are the cheap, noisy drones Iran's been launching at U.S. targets all over Iraq and the region.
But beyond that, one of the most striking things I observed from my border visit was just how terrified people were to speak. I mean, you could see it in their eyes and you could hear it in what they chose not to say. I spoke with one woman in her 60s coming from a border city in Iran. She asked not to be named for fear of government reprisal, even though she was no longer in Iran.
And when I asked her about the war, she was really, really vague.
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Chapter 6: How do recent events influence U.S. foreign policy in Cuba?
She spoke only about the poor economy and avoided any talk about the war or the government.
Chapter 7: How is the war impacting energy prices globally?
And then she asked me to turn off my mic. She burst into tears and told me that she wished the airstrikes on her city had killed her. That, between the war and the security crackdown, life had just really become unbearable. You mentioned a security crackdown. What do you hear about that?
Chapter 8: What are the implications of the U.S. job market's performance?
So there's been an intense internet blackout in Iran these last couple of weeks. It's been very hard to reach people inside the country. But those who do manage to get online, go through Starlink, for example, describe seeing many more checkpoints in their cities and towns. They say security forces are checking phones. They look for apps that
help bypass the internet blackout they look through videos and text messages people say they've been getting text messages presumably from the government warning them not to join crowds that might turn into protests there was one 40 year old man who lives in a city in eastern iran He asked me not to identify him for fear of government reprisal.
And he said in a voice memo that he has seen security forces abandon their stations and move into a mosque and a sports stadium, which is not a common practice. Those stations have been targets. So it's really difficult to verify these accounts, I should note. But numerous people I've spoken with in recent days have shared similar details from this crackdown.
And these are also accounts that match testimonies that many human rights groups are also compiling. So a lot of suffering inside Iran. And how is Iran trying to push that suffering out into its neighbors? They have ramped up attacks in the last several hours. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar have intercepted Iranian missiles and drones in recent hours.
There were strikes in Israel overnight, including in Tel Aviv. There are deaths reported there. The Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon launched rockets into Israel in the early morning, and Israel has been hitting central Beirut. I'm talking to you right now from Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Shortly before we started our conversation, there were sounds of large explosions in the distance. There is a large consulate here that's been targeted, but it's really Iraq's capital city, Baghdad, that's been getting hit hard from Iran-backed militias. So the U.S. embassy there is under constant attack, and it just doesn't seem like this war is slowing down.
If anything, it feels like it's intensifying. And Piers, Arzu Razvani is in Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Arzu, thanks so much. You're welcome. President Trump apparently is in an expansive mood. In other words, he's talking again about expanding the United States. Venezuela's team won a world baseball tournament last night, defeating Team USA.
And the president responded on social media by promoting the South American nation as the 51st state. If you can't beat them, join them or make them join you. The U.S. recently deposed Venezuela's leader, and appears to be dictating terms to the new one. Trump has also been talking about taking over Cuba, and there's a connection.
Cuba depended on Venezuelan oil that the United States has stopped. Cuba right now is in very bad shape. They're talking to Marco, and we'll be doing something with Cuba very soon. Marco is Secretary of State Marco Rubio. So what is the something Trump wants to do? NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez has been trying to read the clues. Franco, good morning. Good morning, Steve.
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