The briefing for Thursday, March 12.

Iran launched attacks Wednesday and Thursday on Dubai International Airport, Bahrain's Muharraq Island, and Iraq's Basra port, killing at least one person and forcing shutdowns of Iraqi oil terminals. The strikes hit the world's busiest international airport and sparked a major fire near Bahrain's jet fuel storage facilities, with authorities urging residents to stay indoors. Iraq's oil terminals remain closed, though commercial ports continue operating.

The UN Security Council voted 13-0 to demand Iran halt its attacks on Gulf neighbors, with China and Russia abstaining. The resolution reflects Iran's diplomatic isolation as it attempts to pressure the U.S. and Israel through economic disruption. Iranian officials warn oil could reach $200 per barrel, threatening any vessels linked to the U.S., Israel, or their allies passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of global oil supplies.

Brent crude topped $100 per barrel Thursday despite the International Energy Agency's agreement to release 400 million barrels from emergency reserves. The Pentagon disclosed the war's first week cost $11.3 billion, including $5 billion on munitions alone. Asian nations heavily reliant on Middle Eastern energy have been particularly affected, with the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam seeing long queues at petrol stations and governments implementing work-from-home policies to conserve fuel.

A preliminary Pentagon investigation found that outdated intelligence provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency likely led to a U.S. missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed over 165 people, many of them children, according to a U.S. official and a second person briefed on the findings. The Feb. 28 strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School occurred on Saturday morning, the start of the Iranian school week, when the building was full of students.

The incident has become a focal point of the war and would rank among the highest civilian casualty events caused by U.S. military operations in two decades if confirmed. President Trump initially blamed Iran for the attack, later expressed uncertainty, and said he would accept the Pentagon's investigation results. The strike used target coordinates based on outdated data, and satellite analysis shows the school had visible characteristics that could have identified it as a civilian site.

More than 45 Democratic senators demanded answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, raising concerns about Pentagon cuts to offices designed to prevent civilian casualties. The senators noted that the Trump administration has reduced staff at U.S. Central Command and the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence. Former Pentagon officials suggest the strike resulted from administration changes emphasizing lethality over legal safeguards, potentially threatening domestic support for the conflict.

All 32 members of the International Energy Agency agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves, more than double the 182.7 million barrels released after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The IEA's member and associate countries represent two thirds of global energy production and 80% of consumption, with members required to maintain 90 days' worth of their nation's oil use in reserve.

The unprecedented release aims to address supply disruptions caused by Iran's attacks on Gulf shipping and infrastructure, though energy analysts warn it provides only a temporary solution. The oil won't flood markets immediately; instead, producers will make more available for refineries to order. However, experts note a shortage of refining capacity could limit the release's effectiveness, and once reserves are depleted, they cannot be quickly replenished.

Germany, Austria, and Japan confirmed participation, with the U.S. planning to release 172 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Despite the collective action, oil prices surged past $100 per barrel, suggesting traders expect prolonged disruptions. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the decision won't help the gas market, where liquid natural gas supplies have slumped 20%, driving UK benchmark prices up 70% since the conflict began.

The Social Security Administration's inspector general is investigating a whistleblower complaint alleging a former Department of Government Efficiency worker misused sensitive SSA data on hundreds of millions of Americans. According to documents obtained by the AP, the inspector general informed leadership of four congressional committees about launching the probe after receiving an anonymous complaint.

The Washington Post reported that a former DOGE software engineer allegedly told co-workers he possessed two tightly restricted databases of U.S. citizens' information on a thumb drive that he planned to share with his new employer. The SSA maintains records on hundreds of millions of people, including health diagnoses, income, banking information, and personal biographic data. The agency, the former employee, and the company have all refuted the allegations.

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden said the allegations, if true, would represent "one of the largest known data breaches in American history." The investigation follows ongoing litigation over DOGE's access to SSA data, with the Trump administration admitting in January that DOGE workers had unauthorized access to sensitive information, shared data using unapproved third-party services, and signed a voter data agreement with a political advocacy group.

South Korean lawmakers passed legislation Thursday to establish a public corporation managing Seoul's pledge of $350 billion in U.S. investments, an agreement reached last year to avoid Trump administration tariffs. The bill passed 226 to 8, with government officials urging swift action amid mounting uncertainty from Trump's protectionist trade policies and the Iran war's economic fallout.

The law comes hours after the Trump administration opened new investigations into manufacturing in China and U.S. allies including South Korea and Japan, which could result in additional import taxes. Following months of tense negotiations, South Korea finalized the November agreement to invest $200 billion in U.S. semiconductor and high-tech industries and $150 billion in shipbuilding, in exchange for Washington lowering reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 15%.

Some lawmakers opposed the bill, expressing frustration over Trump's new trade investigations and concerns about becoming "the money machine Trump wants us to be." The agreement caps South Korean investments at $20 billion annually to protect foreign currency reserves. The legislative delay had frustrated Trump, who threatened in January to raise tariffs on South Korean autos and pharmaceuticals back to 25% unless the bill moved forward.

Microsoft filed a legal brief supporting Anthropic's federal court challenge to the Pentagon's designation of the AI company as a supply chain risk. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labeled Anthropic's products a threat to national security last week after the company refused to allow unrestricted military use of its Claude AI model, with President Trump ordering all federal agencies to stop using Claude.

Microsoft, a major government contractor, argued that using supply chain risk designations to address contract disputes "may bring severe economic effects that are not in the public interest." The company said the Pentagon's action "forces government contractors to comply with vague and ill-defined directions that have never before been publicly wielded against a U.S. company" and asked a judge to temporarily lift the designation.

Microsoft supported Anthropic's ethical stance against domestic mass surveillance and autonomous warfare without human control, calling this position "consistent with the law and broadly supported by American society." The filing follows support from AI developers at Google and OpenAI, as well as organizations including the Cato Institute and Electronic Frontier Foundation. The Pentagon declined to comment on pending litigation.