"Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nor-Rom.
Iran's Foreign Minister said today Iran has no plans to increase the range of its ballistic missiles.
“A boss Aragchi said that Iran has deliberately limited the range to avoid being perceived as”
a threat. The current range would allow the missiles to reach all the Middle East and some of Eastern Europe, but could not reach the US. He also said the war will continue because of the US and Israel." They have to explain why they started this aggression before we come to the point to
even consider a ceasefire. Of course, nobody wants to continue this war. This is not our war. This is not the war of our choice. This is imposed on us by the United States by Israelis."
He was interviewed on NBC's Meet the Press. U.S. military officials today accused Iran of blatantly disregarding the safety of innocent civilians, including launching attacked drones and missiles and heavily populated civilian areas.
“The Israeli military targeted a hotel in central Beirut today.”
Lebanese health officials say at least four people died. The strike is part of Israel's intensified bombing campaign in Lebanon, against the Iran backed has well-emilitan group. NPR's Hidel al-Shalchi reports. A video shared online showed black smoke billowing from the window over hotel room in
the Ramada Plaza in central Beirut.
The Israeli military says it killed five Iranian commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard-based in Lebanon. It said in a statement that it would "not allow Iranian terrorist elements to establish themselves in Lebanese territory." Israeli strikes have been mainly focused in south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, which are considered Hizballa strongholds.
This is the first time it has struck the heart of the capitals since the war with Iran began.
“Hotels like the Ramada in Beirut are full of displaced families fleeing the Israeli”
bombing in the south. Hadil al-Shalchi and PR news, Beirut. President Trump is facing a lot of economic headwinds as the 2026 mid-term election year gets underway. NPR's Marliasin has more.
Despite President Trump's claims that the U.S. economy is roaring like it's never
roared before, job creation is down. The February jobs report showed that the U.S. economy shed 92,000 jobs last month. Oil prices are up, the stock market is down, and in special elections this cycle so far, Democratic candidates keep winning despite their parties historic unpopularity. Still the President continues to take big risks, including pursuing a war that majorities
of American voters oppose, less than 40 percent of Americans tell pollsters they approve of the war in Iran. Denying President Trump, the rally around the flag effect, President's usually enjoy at the beginning of military conflicts. For Alayahsan, NPR news, this is NPR news in Washington.
The fourth most populous country in the world is banning social media for teenagers, nine a row reports. Indonesia will bar children under 16 from using digital platforms such as YouTube, X, Threads, Facebook, and Instagram. Indonesia's communication and digital affairs minister, Wethya Hafith, says the reason behind
this is the children increasingly faced real threats. From exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and addiction, Hafith says the government is present, so parents no longer have to fight alone against the giant of algorithms.
Indonesia will be the first Southeast Asian country to restrict children's access to social media.
For NPR news, I'm Nina Rao, in Jakarta, a federal judge ruled last night that Cari Lake was illegally named acting CEO of the US agency for global media, and that all actions she's taken in that role are void, including mass layoffs. The agency is the parent of US-backed international radio networks, including the voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Free Asia, like said she will appeal.
Charters of voting rights are gathering at a bridge in Selma, Alabama this afternoon, to reenact the bloody Sunday March in 1965 on that day, protesters were beaten by state troopers on the Edmund Pettis Bridge, the violence, shock the nation, and energize the civil rights movement, leading to the passage of the voting rights act to secure voting rights for all Americans.
I'm Nora Raoam, NPR News, in Washington.
