Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 16, 2026

Welcome to Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Nermeen Shaikh. The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has now entered its third week. On Friday, President Trump ordered strikes on military installations on Iran's Kharg Island, which handles 90 percent of the country's crude oil exports. In a phone call with NBC News journalist Kristen Welker on Saturday, President Trump said U.S.

strikes had, quote, "'totally demolished' much of the island and warned of more," saying, quote, "'We may hit it a few more times, just for fun.'" President Trump also claimed that Iran wanted a ceasefire, which Iranian Foreign Minister

Abbas Ararghchi flatly denied. No, we never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes. And this is what we have done so far, and we continue to do that until President Trump comes to the point that this is an illegal war with no victory.

Reuters reports that President Trump has ignored attempts by allies in the Middle East to start negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war. Over the weekend, U.S. and Israeli forces continued to bombard Iran, hitting cities such as Tehran, Hamadan and Isfahan. Iranian media says that a U.S.-Israeli strike killed 15 people at a factory in Isfahan. Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Ministry said Saturday that at least 56 museums and

historic sites have been damaged. At least 1,348 civilians in Iran have been killed since the start of the war, according to Iran's U.N. ambassador. Meanwhile, Iran's police chief says that the country has arrested 500 people accused of sharing information with enemies. This is Mohammad Tahiri, whose home was damaged in a U.S.-Israeli strike.

It's a terrible incident, very bitter. Many people have been killed, and so many have lost their homes and lives. However, because of that heroic spirit that has arisen among all the people of Iran, it is now bearable. That is, that sense of resistance within us has grown, strengthened and matured. For that reason, we are trying to get through these days.

And God willing, we will rebuild everything better from the start, just as we are rebuilding our country and moving closer to our ideals.

Iran continued to launch retaliatory strikes at Israel, as Iranian rumors spread that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was killed in an Iranian strike. In response, Netanyahu posted a video of himself getting coffee and chatting with an aide in Jerusalem on Sunday. Over the weekend, Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles at Israel, carrying cluster bombs, injuring at least eight people across the country.

In Iraq, six U.S. service members were killed when their military refueling plane crashed while taking part in Iran war operations last week. Overall, 12 U.S. service members have been killed since the Iran war began on February 28. Another service member died of a medical issue. This comes as the U.S. State Department issued a warning telling U.S. citizens to leave Iraq

immediately. Meanwhile, Italy's military said on Sunday there had been a drone attack on the Ali al-Salam airbase in Kuwait hosting Italian and U.S. forces. This comes as Iran continues to attack infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates, urging people to evacuate three major ports. Iranian state media claimed, without evidence, that U.S. forces are located in the civilian

ports of Jebel Ali, Khalifa and Fujairah in the UAE. Authorities in the UAE say a drone attack sparked a fire near the Ba'i Airport, while another drone attack has also been reported at Fujairah's industrial area. Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned major U.S. corporations in the region to evacuate. President Trump is calling for a coalition of countries to send warships to secure the

Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for 20 percent of the world's oil supply. Japan and Australia said they were not planning on sending naval vessels to escort ships through the strait. This comes as Brent crude oil is trading near $105 a barrel today. According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. has hit $3.70, up from $3.45 a week ago and $2.93 a month ago.

Meanwhile, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday that there were, quote, no guarantees that oil prices would fall soon. Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker, urged the U.S. to conduct, quote, a dozen thermonuclear detonations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Israel says its troops have begun ground operations in southern Lebanon. This comes as the World Health Organization says it has verified that 12 doctors, paramedics

and nurses were killed in an Israeli strike on a health care center in southern Lebanon on Friday. According to the Lebanese health ministry, Israeli attacks have killed at least 850 people, including 107 children. Nearly one million people have been forced to flee their homes, according to the U.N. This is Furhat Othman, who fled southern Lebanon to Saida, just south of Beirut.

I swear, I came from the south, from the district of Tairi. The situation is just as you can see. Sometimes the tent gets blown away by the wind. Sometimes there is rain. Sometimes water. The blankets are soaked with water.

As they say, even the rugs are full of water. Everything is wet, as you can see. We have a cold from the wind, and we are waiting for God's mercy.

FCC Chair Brenton Carr is threatening to revoke broadcasters' licenses over their coverage of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Carr shared a Truth Social post by President Trump in which he criticized U.S. media coverage of the Iran war, writing on X, quote, "'Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions, also known as the fake news, have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up.

The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut blasted Carr, saying, quote, "'This is the federal government telling news stations to provide favorable coverage of the war or their licenses will be pulled.

A truly extraordinary moment. We aren't on the verge of a totalitarian takeover. We are in the middle of it. Israel continues to violate the U.S.-brokered so-called ceasefire in Gaza, killing 12 people, including two children and a pregnant woman, on Sunday. Since the ceasefire deal last October, Israeli forces have killed more than 650 Palestinians,

according to Gaza health officials. Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian father, mother and two of their children in their car on Sunday. Thirty-seven-year-old Ali Khaled Bani Odeh and his wife Wad and two of their children, Mohammad and Othman, were each shot in the head in the village of Tammun. Two other children managed to survive.

This is one of them recounting how Israeli soldiers attacked his family.

We were leaving Nablus from Al-Nublasi restaurant. All of a sudden, we came under direct fire. We didn't know the source. Everyone in the car was martyred, except for my brother Mustafa and me. A soldier came and pulled me out of the car. They started beating me.

They pulled out my brother Mustafa. They tried to beat him, but I stood in front of them.

They pushed me to the ground and started beating me on the back with their boots. The Israeli soldiers started to say, we killed dogs." In the Netherlands, authorities are denouncing what they described as anti-Semitic attacks on two Jewish institutions this weekend. The mayor of Amsterdam said an overnight blast Saturday damaged the outside of a Jewish school in a, quote, targeted attack against the Jewish community. The day before, four teenagers were taken into police custody, accused of starting a

fire at a synagogue in Rotterdam. No one has been arrested for the attack in Amsterdam. In Venezuela, the Trump administration has reopened the U.S. embassy in the capital, Caracas, for the first time since 2019. The U.S. flag was raised over the embassy Saturday, as Trump has touted the resumption of diplomatic relations with Venezuela after a deadly U.S. military strike led to the abduction

of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, in early January. Venezuela's interim government, led by Del C. Rodríguez, has agreed to several of Trump's demands, including granting the U.S. access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves and other natural resources. In Cuba, protesters reportedly torched a local Communist Party office in the city of Morón, as people express a growing frustration over food shortages and massive blackouts across the island.

A U.S. oil blockade has cut off Cuba from accessing desperately needed fuel, as the Trump administration intensifies pressure to topple the Cuban government. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Friday he had held talks with U.S. officials, stating Cuba had not received oil shipments in at least three months. The island had already been devastated by decades of U.S. sanctions. Advocates are demanding an investigation after the mysterious death of a Haitian asylum seeker

who was found unresponsive at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, bus shelter days after being released from jail and placed under ICE supervision. The Haitian Bridge Alliance says 31-year-old Daphie Michel had reportedly been jailed for months and was released after a judge dismissed misdemeanor charges against her. Michel was processed into ICE's so-called Alternatives to Detention program and fitted with an electronic ankle monitor shortly before her death, according to the Haitian Bridge Alliance.

Ahead of her time in jail, Michelle had reportedly been experiencing mental health episodes. This comes as an Afghan asylum seeker died in ICE custody this weekend, less than 24 hours after being detained in Texas. According to the veteran-led advocacy group Afghan EvAC, Mohammad Nazir Pakhtiawal worked alongside U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan during the U.S. invasion. He was reportedly arrested Friday outside his home as he got ready to drop off his children

at school. Pakhtiawal lived with his wife and six children in Dallas. He's at least the 12th immigrant to die in ICE custody since the beginning of the year. In Texas, a federal jury on Friday convicted eight anti-ICE protesters on terrorism charges in a closely watched trial that raised fears over the Trump administration's intensifying

crackdown on activists and First Amendment rights. This marked the first time terrorism charges were successfully brought against activists by the Justice Department, as federal prosecutors accused the protesters of being members of Antifa. The trial focused on a reported shooting that happened during a protest outside the Prairieland ICE jail in Alvarado last year.

The coalition DFW support committee said, quote, this is a sham trial built on political persecution and ideological attacks coming from the top. In more related news, an immigration judge on Friday ordered the release of Palestinian activist Lika Kordia, who has been detained by ICE for over a year. This was Kordia's third bond hearing, with Trump officials repeatedly refusing to release her from custody.

To see our coverage of her case, go to democracynow.org. And the Academy Awards were held in Los Angeles Sunday, where Sinners made history, with Autumn Durrell-Arquipon becoming the first woman to win in the Best Cinematography category. Michael B. Jordan took home the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of twin brothers Smoke and Stack, while the film's director, Ryan Coogler, won for Best Original Screenplay.

Mr. Nobody Against Putin won for Best Documentary Feature. Meanwhile, actor and presenter Javier Bardem called for a free Palestine on stage.

No to war and free Palestine.

The Palestinian actor Motaz Malhis, who had a starring role in the Oscar-nominated foreign film The Voice of Hind Rajab, was unable to attend the ceremony after his U.S. visa was denied. He said on Instagram, quote, "'I am not allowed to enter the United States because of my Palestinian citizenship.'" To see our coverage of many of these films, please go to our website.

We'll have more on the Academy Awards later in the broadcast. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Nermeen Shaikh in New York.

And I'm Amy Goodman in Los Angeles, where I attended the Oscars last night. I had a chance recently to speak with the winners of the documentary feature award, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, and I had a chance recently to speak with the winners of the documentary feature award, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, and we'll play that later. of America.