Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 31, 2026

AMY GOODMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR, TRUTH SOCIAL

Welcome to Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. The U.S. dropped 2,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, hitting a large ammunition depot in the Iranian city of Isfahan Monday. President Trump posted a video of the massive explosions on Truth Social. It comes as Trump warned the U.S. would obliterate Iran's energy plants and oil wells if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump also threatened to strike Iran's desalination plants, which is a war crime. Iran said it had received U.S. ceasefire proposals via intermediaries following talks Sunday between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the proposals were, quote, unrealistic, illogical and excessive," unquote. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund warned Monday the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran

is driving higher prices and slower growth worldwide. Here in the U.S., gas prices hit $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022. White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt suggested President Trump could soon ask Arab nations to pay for the conflict.

Back during the Persian Gulf War, 1990-1991, Arab countries paid for the vast majority of the cost of the war—Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE. Who's paying for the cost of this war? Will those Arab countries step up to do just that?

Well, I think it's something the president would be quite interested in calling them to do. I won't get ahead of him on that, but certainly it's an idea that I know that he has and something that I think you'll hear more from him on.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reports the U.S. military debuted a new weapon called the Precision Strike Missile when it struck a sports hall in a school in southern Iran February 28th. The attack killed at least 21 people, including young girls playing volleyball, according to local officials. The precision strike missile is barely out of the prototype phase, and the U.S. Army

has not yet created an official entry for it in the military supply system. According to a consortium of human rights groups in Iran, nearly 1,500 Iranian civilians, at least 217 of them children, have been killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes. U.S. airstrikes have hit 20 universities and dormitories across Iran, according to Iranian state media. Videos posted March 28th and 29th showed the aftermath of an attack on the Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran,

where an entire building was reduced to rubble, a few days before Dr. Saeed Shamghadri, a professor at the university, and two of his children were killed in a strike on their home in northern Tehran. A strike on a research institute at Isfahan University of Technology damaged several buildings and injured four staff members, according to Iranian state media. Other universities hit include the Faculty of Pharmacy at Shiraz University and two campuses

at Urmia University in northeastern Iran, according to United Students, a group run by student activists. Iran has vowed to retaliate against U.S. university campuses in the region. NYU has closed its Abu Dhabi campus after Iranian leaders declared outposts of U.S. universities as, quote, legitimate targets, unquote. Iran struck a fully loaded crude oil tanker near Dubai Monday, setting the vessel on fire. Meanwhile, Turkey reported a ballistic missile launch from Iran entered Turkish airspace

before being shot down by NATO air and missile defenses. It comes as Human Rights Watch released a report Monday finding Iran fired cluster munitions at Israel, calling the strikes unlawful. The cluster bombs killed at least four civilians, according to HRW. Israel's parliament, the Knesset, on Monday passed a law approving the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis.

The law makes death by hanging the default sentence for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of killing Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the Knesset to cast his vote for the bill in person. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gavir, who spearheaded the legislation, celebrated its passage by toasting lawmakers.

This is Sarit Mikhaeli of B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group.

This law violates both the laws of occupation that place severe restrictions on the ability of placing the death sentence on—by the occupying power against the occupied population, but also is discriminatory, because Israeli Jews who live in the occupied territories, Israeli settlers, will not face any sort of death penalty in the rare occurrence that they might actually be convicted, tried or convicted, of any sort of offenses, and certainly not the killing of Palestinians.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned Israel's Supreme Court to strike down the law minutes after it passed, calling it discriminatory by design," unquote. The foreign ministers of Australia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy had urged Israel to abandon the measure. Israel has not executed anyone since Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962. Hundreds of Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons due to torture and other inhumane conditions, while the United Nations condemned the killing of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers

as extrajudicial executions. The Palestinian-American activist Nardin Kiswani spoke outside New York City Hall on Monday, after the NYPD foiled an assassination attempt against her. A New Jersey man, Alexander Heifler, has been arrested and charged with plotting to firebomb Kiswani's home in Brooklyn. Investigators say Heifler was a member of the JDL 613 Brotherhood, a New Jersey-based

group founded in 2024 that described itself as a revival of the Jewish Defense League, a pro-Israel group designated by the FBI as a terrorist organization. Democracy Now! is at the news conference yesterday with Kaswani and her lawyers.

And today I am standing here not just as an organizer, but as a mother, as a Palestinian, and as someone who was a target of a Zionist assassination plot that I have been warning has been inevitable for far too long. When I learned that someone was preparing to attack my home, building explosives, building explosives with the intention of taking my life.

To see our interview with Nardine Kiswani yesterday on Democracy Now!, go to democracynow.org. Socialist activist and documentary filmmaker Avi Lewis has been elected to lead Canada's new Democratic Party, NDP, as Canada's main progressive party seeks to rebuild itself following a devastating defeat in last year's federal election. Lewis, who is Jewish and a vocal critic of Israel, campaigned on a platform of affordability and equity, promising higher

wealth taxes. Last year, Canada's Liberal Party soared in popularity as President Trump intensified his threats to make Canada the 51st state and impose tariffs. Voters flocked to elect the Liberal Party's Mark Carney as prime minister, with the New Democratic Party winning under 10 seats in Parliament. The disastrous election outcome forced the departure of former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.

In his victory speech, Avi Lewis condemned what he described as Israel's genocide in Gaza, saying, quote, "'We call it by its name, and we do everything in our power to bring it to an end," unquote. Avi Lewis is married to renowned Canadian author, journalist and activist Naomi Klein. In Sudan, a new report by Doctors Without Borders warns rape and sexual violence remain, quote, part of everyday life across the Darfur region, as the war between the rapid support forces

and the Sudanese military nears three years. Child rape is particularly rampant, with both parties accused of war crimes. MSF's report outlines the testimonies of over 3,000 survivors of sexual violence who sought medical care at MSF-backed clinics between January 2024 and November 2025. MSF said its report only reflects a fraction of widespread sexual violence in Sudan, and that, quote, this war is being fought on the backs and bodies of women and girls, displacement,

collapsing community support systems, lack of access to health care and deep-rooted gender inequalities are allowing these abuses to continue across Sudan," unquote. This comes as the U.N. reports at least seven people were killed in an airstrike on a funeral gathering in West Kordofan in South Sudan. At least 70 people were killed when gunmen attacked a gold mine in central Equatorial

State, where violent clashes have intensified over illegal mining. Video footage shared online showed dozens of bodies on the ground, covered in blankets, as many survivors were forced to hide in the bushes. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement Army blamed the attack on South Sudanese government forces. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum is demanding answers after a Mexican immigrant died in ICE custody last week.

Jose Guadalupe Ramos was detained at the troubled Atalanta ICE jail in California. He's at least the 14th person to die in ICE custody since January.

This is President Sheinbaum speaking from Mexico City. We're going to take several steps to protest the death of yet another Mexican national in the United States, particularly in this detention center in Los Angeles, has had several deaths. A thematic hearing will be presented before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding people who have died in ICE detention centers.

In Haiti, at least 70 people have been reportedly killed as armed gangs descended on the western Artebonite region, setting homes on fire and displacing thousands of residents in attacks Sunday and Monday. Video footage showed scores of bloodied bodies scattered in the streets. U.N. officials have expressed alarm over the latest gang-related massacre. This comes as a U.N.-backed so-called gang suppression force is expected to deploy to

Haiti in April, despite many Haitians denouncing the efforts as a new form of occupation. The Trump administration has vowed to continue its energy blockade on Cuba, even after U.S. officials allowed a Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island. The U.S. blockade has caused frequent, widespread blackouts across Cuba, with hospitals, universities and other public services on the near brink of collapse. Before the arrival of Russia's oil tanker, Cuba had not received any fuel in more than

three months. This is Havana resident Ismael de la Cruz Caballero.

I see the arrival of the ship and the fact that they allowed it in very positively. However, we need them to let more shipments through. After all, a single ship amounts to just over 75,000 barrels, and that lasts only 15 days. What happens after that? We'll be right back to the blackouts and the transportation crisis. Things are in a dire state on that front.

Later in the broadcast, we'll speak with an independent journalist in Havana and Professor William Leogrand, co-author of Back Channel to Cuba, the hidden history of negotiations between Washington and Havana. And the Trump administration's move to allow riskier alternative investments, such as private equity and cryptocurrencies, to be included in 401k retirement accounts.

Dennis Kelleher, chief executive of Better Markets, a nonprofit advocacy group, said, quote, the legal immunity created by the safe harbor will incentivize financial advisors to pitch these toxic products, which will become ticking time bombs and tens of millions of retirement accounts,' unquote. The Department of Labor will open a 60-day public comment period before deciding whether to finalize the rule." And those are some of the headlines.

This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman in New York, joined by Democracy Now!'s Juan González in Chicago. Hi, Juan.

AMY GOODMAN, JNR-DNR, New York, Chicago, D.C. AMY GOODMAN, JNR-DNR, New York, Chicago, D.C.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ, CHICAGO, OHIO, D.C. country and around the world.