The briefing for Tuesday, March 31.

U.S. forces struck Isfahan on Tuesday, a central Iranian city housing one of the country's main nuclear enrichment facilities. President Trump shared footage showing a massive fireball rising from the area, though Iran has not confirmed the attack. Separately, an Iranian drone hit a Kuwaiti oil tanker off Dubai, sparking a fire that authorities later extinguished. The strikes underscore the intensity of a war now in its fifth week, with more than 3,000 dead and major disruptions to global energy supplies.

The Isfahan strike targeted areas near facilities believed to store most of Iran's highly enriched uranium—material enriched to 60% purity, just a short technical step from weapons-grade levels. NASA fire-tracking satellites detected explosions in a mountainous region on the city's southern edge. Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil normally flows, has driven Brent crude prices to around $106 per barrel, up more than 45% since the war began February 28. U.S. gas prices surpassed $4 per gallon Tuesday, the highest since 2022.

Trump warned that if a ceasefire is not reached 'shortly' and the strait remains closed, the U.S. would expand its offensive to include Kharg Island oil facilities and possibly desalination plants. Gulf allies that have been hit hard are privately urging Trump to continue fighting until Iran's military capabilities are destroyed, according to U.S., Gulf, and Israeli officials. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted Tehran is only targeting U.S. forces, not Arab populations. The U.N. Security Council planned an emergency session after three peacekeepers were killed in southern Lebanon during Israel's operations against Hezbollah.

The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on President Trump's executive order that would deny U.S. citizenship to children born in the United States to undocumented or temporary immigrants. The order, signed on Trump's first day back in office, challenges the widely accepted interpretation of the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause, which makes citizens of 'all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.' Every court to consider the issue has found the order illegal and blocked it from taking effect.

The case turns on the meaning of 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof,' a phrase also used in citizenship laws from 1940 and 1952. The Trump administration argues that people in the country illegally or temporarily are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and therefore their U.S.-born children should not receive citizenship. Solicitor General D. John Sauer likened the case to landmark decisions like Brown v. Board of Education. However, challengers including the ACLU and lower-court judges say the administration's arguments lack merit and contradict the Constitution's text, history, and decades of precedent.

More than 250,000 babies born in the U.S. each year would be affected by the order, according to research by the Migration Policy Institute and University of Pennsylvania. One Argentine immigrant who secured a U.S. passport for her 7-month-old son before the order was signed expressed relief that 'at least he is protected.' Her lawyers insisted on anonymity due to fears of retribution. Justice Sonia Sotomayor previously called defending the order 'an impossible task in light of the Constitution's text, history, this Court's precedents, federal law, and Executive Branch practice.'

NASA began the countdown Monday for Wednesday evening's planned launch of Artemis II, humanity's first crewed mission to the moon in 53 years. The 32-story Space Launch System rocket will carry four astronauts—Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—on a nearly 10-day flight. After a day in Earth orbit, their Orion capsule will propel them around the moon before returning for a Pacific splashdown.

The mission was originally scheduled for February but was delayed by hydrogen fuel leaks, followed by a clogged helium pressurization line that forced a return to the hangar. The rocket returned to the pad a week and a half ago, and the crew arrived Friday. Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said the team has 'worked extremely hard to get us to this moment' and that 'all indications are right now we are in excellent, excellent shape.' Forecasters expect favorable weather conditions.

Unlike Apollo, which sent only men to the moon from 1968 through 1972, Artemis II's crew includes a woman, person of color, and non-U.S. citizen. Pilot Victor Glover, who is Black, said he wants young people to see the diverse crew and be inspired, while also looking forward to when 'one day we don't have to talk about these firsts' and space exploration becomes an all-encompassing 'human history.' NASA has the first six days of April to launch before standing down until month's end.

Gulf allies of the United States, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are privately urging President Trump to continue the war against Iran, arguing Tehran hasn't been weakened enough by the monthlong bombing campaign. According to U.S., Gulf, and Israeli officials, these regional allies initially grumbled about inadequate advance notice but now see a historic opportunity to cripple Tehran's clerical rule. Officials from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain have conveyed they don't want military operations to end until there are significant changes in Iranian leadership or dramatic shifts in behavior.

The push comes as Trump vacillates between claiming Iran is ready to settle and threatening further escalation. One Gulf diplomat described division among regional leaders, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia most hawkish—the UAE is pushing hard for a ground invasion. Kuwait and Bahrain also favor this option, while Oman and Qatar prefer diplomatic solutions. Saudi Arabia argues that ending the war now won't produce a 'good deal' guaranteeing security, insisting any settlement must neutralize Iran's nuclear program, destroy ballistic missile capabilities, end support for proxy groups, and ensure the Strait of Hormuz cannot be shut down.

Trump told reporters Sunday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain are 'all fighting back,' though Gulf countries have not joined offensive strikes despite hosting U.S. forces and bases. The UAE, which has faced more than 2,300 missile and drone attacks from Iran, has grown increasingly irritated as the war threatens its image as a safe trade and tourism hub. A senior Emirati official stated bluntly: 'An Iranian regime that launches ballistic missiles at homes, weaponizes global trade and supports proxies is no longer an acceptable feature of the region.'

A rarely convened federal panel met Tuesday for the first time since 1992 to consider exempting oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act, citing unspecified national security concerns tied to the Iran war. The Endangered Species Committee, nicknamed the 'God Squad' by critics who say it can decide a species' fate, is chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and includes several Trump administration officials. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth notified Burgum on March 13 that the exemption was 'necessary for reasons of national security,' though officials have not disclosed the specific rationale.

The exemption could doom the rare Rice's whale, with only about 50 remaining in the Gulf, according to environmental groups who unsuccessfully sought to block the meeting. A 2025 National Marine Fisheries Service analysis determined the Gulf oil and gas program was likely to harm several species of whales, sea turtles, and Gulf sturgeon through ship strikes, oil spills, and other impacts. More than 250,000 babies would be affected annually if the order stands. The Gulf of Mexico accounts for more than 10% of U.S. crude oil production and has seen disasters like BP's 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout that killed 11 workers and spilled 134 million gallons of oil.

The committee was established in 1978 to exempt projects from the Endangered Species Act if no alternative provides the same economic benefits or if exemption serves the national interest. It has convened only three times in 53 years and issued just two exemptions—for a Wyoming dam in 1979 and Oregon logging in 1992, the latter later withdrawn. The Trump administration approved BP's new $5 billion ultra-deepwater drilling project in the Gulf in mid-March. A federal judge on Monday struck down Trump-era attempts to weaken endangered species rules, adding legal complexity to Tuesday's proceedings.

Israel's parliament passed legislation Monday making the death penalty the default sentence for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks in military courts, with 62 votes in favor and 48 against. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted for the measure, which was championed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who wore a small noose pin on his lapel to signal support. The bill stipulates that Palestinians convicted of carrying out deadly attacks deemed 'acts of terrorism' would be executed by hanging within 90 days, with possible postponement up to 180 days.

The law has drawn widespread condemnation as discriminatory. While Jewish Israelis could theoretically face execution under the law, critics say this would almost certainly not happen since the death penalty applies only where the attack's intention was to 'negate the existence of the state of Israel.' Opposition leader Yair Golan called it 'an unnecessary piece of legislation designed to get Ben-Gvir more likes' that contributes nothing to security. The UK, France, Germany, and Italy expressed 'deep concern' on the eve of the vote, warning the bill risks 'undermining Israel's commitments with regard to democratic principles.'

Israel has only executed two people in its history—most notably Nazi official Adolf Eichmann in 1962. Military courts try only West Bank Palestinians, not Israeli citizens including Palestinian citizens of Israel. Israeli courts can choose between life imprisonment or death for murder cases, but only when aimed at harming citizens or 'with the intent of rejecting the existence of the state of Israel.' The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has already petitioned the Supreme Court, calling the law 'unconstitutional, discriminatory by design and—for West Bank Palestinians—enacted without legal authority.' The Palestinian Authority condemned the law as seeking to 'legitimise extrajudicial killing under legislative cover.'