The briefing for Thursday, March 5.

A US submarine torpedoed and sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, killing 87 crew members in what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the first submarine sinking of an enemy ship since World War II. Sri Lanka's navy recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 survivors from the vessel, which had 180 people aboard when it went down about 25 miles off Sri Lanka's southern coast.

The IRIS Dena was one of Iran's newest and most capable warships, equipped with heavy guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. Hegseth described it as Iran's 'prize ship' and said it 'thought it was safe in international waters.' Video released by the Pentagon showed the moment an underwater explosion broke the ship apart, sending a massive plume of water into the air.

The sinking marks a significant escalation in the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, which has now destroyed at least 17 Iranian naval vessels according to US Central Command leader Admiral Brad Cooper. The attack demonstrates Washington's ability to strike Iranian assets far beyond the Middle East, extending the conflict's reach across international waters and regional boundaries.

Iranian authorities postponed the funeral ceremony for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, originally scheduled to begin Wednesday night at Tehran's Grand Mosalla prayer complex, citing the need to prepare infrastructure for large crowds. The decision came as US and Israeli forces continued intense bombardment across Iran for a fifth consecutive day since Khamenei was killed in a strike on his compound Saturday along with his wife, one of their sons, and several top officials.

A member of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for selecting Iran's next supreme leader, said the group is 'close' to choosing Khamenei's successor. The 86-year-old leader had ruled Iran since 1989 and maintained firm control over the country's politics and armed forces. His death has created uncertainty at the top of Iran's theocratic government even as the country faces continuing military assault.

The ongoing strikes have prompted retaliatory attacks from Iran, with new missile strikes reported in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on Wednesday. A young girl was killed by shrapnel in Kuwait during an Iranian attack overnight. Turkey reported that NATO defenses shot down an Iranian missile heading toward Turkish territory, illustrating how the conflict continues to spread across the region despite Iran's leadership crisis.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that companies are entitled to refunds for tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court last month, marking a significant defeat for the Trump administration. Judge Richard Eaton of the US Court of International Trade wrote that 'all importers of record' are 'entitled to benefit' from the February 20 Supreme Court decision that invalidated sweeping import taxes President Trump imposed in 2025 under emergency powers legislation.

The federal government collected more than $130 billion through mid-December from the now-defunct tariffs and could ultimately face refund claims totaling $175 billion, according to Penn Wharton Budget Model calculations. Judge Eaton also ruled that he alone will hear cases pertaining to tariff refunds, providing some procedural clarity that the Supreme Court's ruling did not address. Trade lawyers expect the government to appeal or seek delays while US Customs develops a refund process.

The ruling creates challenges for Customs and Border Protection, whose system 'was not designed for a mass refund,' according to trade lawyer Alexis Early. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration is 'likely' to implement a 15% global tariff this week to replace the struck-down levies, though significant questions remain about the legal framework and procedural details of the new tariff regime.

Google agreed to lower its Android app store commissions to 10-20% and allow alternative app stores to gain certification, ending a legal battle that began in August 2020 when Epic Games filed an antitrust lawsuit. The settlement comes five months after the Supreme Court refused to hear Google's appeal of a 2023 jury verdict declaring the Play Store setup an illegal monopoly. The new structure includes an optional 5% payment processing charge for apps that prefer to keep transactions within the Play Store.

Under the proposed changes filed with a federal court in San Francisco, app developers can choose alternative payment processing systems beyond Google's, and consumers will be able to download apps from alternative stores that complete a certification process. While not required, alternative app stores that register through Google's process are less likely to trigger security warnings. Federal Judge James Donato must still approve the changes as an alternative to the more extensive overhaul he ordered in October 2024.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, whose company makes Fortnite, backed the settlement and said it 'brings Android up to the status of a truly open platform.' Google executive Sameer Samat said the company wanted to 'focus more energy and time on building than on quarreling.' The lower fees will likely reduce profits for Google's parent company Alphabet, which now has a market value of $3.7 trillion—four times higher than when Epic filed the lawsuit. Google plans to roll out the changes globally, beginning in the US, UK, and European Union.

Satellite images released Wednesday show damage to multiple buildings at Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility following US-Israeli strikes earlier this week. Images from Vantor, a Colorado-based imaging company, revealed damage to personnel housing and vehicle entrances to the underground enrichment complex when comparing imagery from Sunday and Monday. The UN's nuclear watchdog confirmed 'some recent damage' at the site but said there was 'no radiological consequence expected.'

The attack on Natanz marks the first confirmed strike against an Iranian nuclear site in the current war, though the facility had previously been targeted during the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict in July 2025. Natanz, located about 135 miles southeast of Tehran, is Iran's main uranium enrichment site and one of four declared nuclear facilities in the country. The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a confidential report last week that it 'cannot provide any information on the current size, composition or whereabouts of the stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran' due to lack of access.

President Trump claimed on Monday that Iran was seeking to rebuild its nuclear program after his administration previously stated Iran's nuclear capabilities had been 'obliterated' following last summer's war. Iran has said it ceased enrichment in June but has blocked international inspectors from visiting bombed sites. Satellite analysis by the Associated Press has shown new activity at two facilities, suggesting Iran may be attempting to assess and potentially recover nuclear material from damaged locations.