UN says 3.2 million displaced in Iran; 40+ senators press Hegseth over Iran school bombing; Drone strikes in Sudan kill dozens of civilians

Drop Site Daily: March 12, 2026

U.S. and Israeli airstrikes pound Iran for thirteenth day. UN: 3.2 million displaced in Iran. Satellite imagery shows new strike damage at Iran’s Taleghan-2 site. U.S. intelligence says Iran’s leadership remains stable. Iran says drones struck Israeli intelligence and missile-defense sites. Iranian officials say ports operating normally. Citibank closes branches in the UAE. Strike on Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces in Anbar kills at least 31. Drone strike hits fuel storage tanks at Oman’s Salalah port. Bahrain hit once again, and foreign riot police deployed to put down domestic unrest. Iran denies FBI claim of potential drone attack from Mexican territory. Iran outlines conditions it says are needed to end the war, as President Donald Trump claims war will end soon. Israeli strikes across Lebanon kill dozens. Israel issues sweeping displacement order to residents south of Zahrani River. Hezbollah launches major rocket barrage toward northern Israel. Israel strikes Gaza City. Spain permanently withdraws ambassador to Israel. U.S. to release 172 million barrels from strategic reserve. Dozens of senators sign letter to War Secretary Pete Hegseth calling for answers on deadly Iran school bombing. First week of Iran war cost U.S. over $11B. U.S. to permanently close consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan. Two drone strikes on school and funeral convoy in Sudan kill at least 57. Drone strike in rebel-held Goma kills UNICEF aid worker and two civilians. Russia weighs 10% budget cuts as oil revenues fall despite Iran war price spike.

NEW from Drop Site: Rescue Efforts in Tehran After a Triple Strike Hit Apartment Buildings, Killing 40, Mahmoud Aslan reports from Tehran. NEW POLL from Drop Site/Zeteo/D4P finds many Americans believe the Iran War is linked to Epstein scandal and expect political fallout.

Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-old Palestinian woman from Paterson, New Jersey, has spent nearly a year in ICE detention in Texas after speaking out against Israel’s war in Gaza, despite an immigration judge twice ruling that she is eligible for release. Drop Site joins the IMEU Policy Project, MPower Action, Jewish Voice for Peace ACT, and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action in calling for her immediate release. The link below allows users to send emails and make calls to their member of Congress on Leqaa’s behalf:

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Iranians collect belongings from a damaged residential building in Tehran following U.S-Israeli airstrikes, on March 12, 2026. Photo by AFP via Getty Images.

War on Iran

• U.S. and Israeli airstrikes pound Iran for thirteenth day: Multiple airstrikes hit Tehran on Thursday—the thirteenth day of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The Israeli military said Thursday that it carried out a “wave of extensive strikes” targeting Iranian government infrastructure.

• UN: 3.2 million displaced in Iran: The UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Thursday that up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced by the war. “This figure is likely to continue rising as hostilities persist, marking a worrying escalation in humanitarian needs,” UNHCR said in a statement. It added most have fled from Tehran and other major cities toward the north of the country or rural areas.

• Satellite imagery shows new strike damage at Iran’s Taleghan-2 site: New satellite images appear to show serious damage done to the layer of earth covering the roof of the Taleghan-2 facility inside Iran’s Parchin military complex—a site linked to explosives and missile research. The facility was previously destroyed in an airstrike in 2024 and later rebuilt with reinforced concrete and soil, but the latest imagery suggests the hardened structure has been struck again. In a statement, the Israeli military acknowledged it hit the facility.

• U.S. intelligence says Iran’s leadership remains stable: U.S. intelligence assessments indicate Iran’s leadership remains largely intact and that its government is not at risk of collapse, despite nearly two weeks of U.S. and Israeli strikes, according to Reuters. A “multitude” of reports from intelligence agencies have furnished “consistent analysis that the regime is not in danger” of collapse, and that the government “retains control of the Iranian public.” The assessments also cast doubt on the ability of Iranian Kurdish militias to mount a sustained insurgency against the state.

• Iran says drones struck Israeli intelligence and missile-defense sites: Iranian drones targeted several Israeli military and intelligence facilities Wednesday, including the Aman military intelligence directorate, the Unit 8200 signals intelligence unit, the Green Pine missile-defense radar, and the submarine headquarters at the Haifa naval base, according to a statement from Iran’s military. Iranian officials said the strikes began early in the morning and lasted several hours.

• Iran says ports operating normally: Iranian shipping officials said on Wednesday that ports across the country remain fully operational and cargo traffic is continuing normally despite disruptions to regional shipping around the Strait of Hormuz. Masoud Polmeh, secretary general of the Iranian Shipping and Related Services Association, said vessels are loading and unloading goods, including bulk cargo, containers, and staple commodities, without restrictions. Tanker-tracking data from Kpler cited by the Wall Street Journal shows Iranian crude exports averaging about 2.1 million barrels per day over the past six days, with much of the oil bound for China and India aboard older “shadow fleet” tankers operating under sanctions or false flags.

• Citibank closes branches in the UAE: Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned people across the Gulf to avoid being within one kilometer of banks linked to the United States or Israel, saying such institutions could become targets after one of the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Tehran hit a Bank Sepah building. Iranian media reported bank employees were killed in the attack, which officials said hit a facility on Haqqani Highway where staff were working an emergency shift. Following the warning, Citigroup evacuated staff from its Dubai offices and employees at other firms in the Dubai International Financial Centre were also told to leave amid heightened security concerns. Citibank later announced it would be closing all but one of its branches in the UAE.

• Russia evacuates additional workers from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant: Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom said Wednesday that 150 additional Russian employees have left Iran from the Bushehr nuclear power plant, exiting through Iran’s border with Armenia. Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev said about 450 Russian personnel remain at the facility, where Russia had been building two additional reactor units before construction was halted last week because of the war. Bushehr, Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant, has not been attacked, though Likhachev said the situation around the site remains “tense.”

• Strike on Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces sites in Anbar kills at least 31: At least 31 people were killed in strikes targeting sites belonging to Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) near the Akashat area of Anbar province, according to the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate. The attacks reportedly hit facilities of the PMF’s 19th Brigade, including a medical headquarters and battalion base, with aircraft allegedly returning to strike a medical center and ambulances as rescuers attempted to reach the wounded. The PMF, an umbrella force of militias formally integrated into Iraq’s armed forces, has been targeted in a series of recent U.S.-Israeli strikes.

• More attacks in Iraq: Drone attacks were reported late Wednesday in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. An intercepted drone fell near the Divan Hotel at the Saad Abdullah Conference Hall complex in Erbil. Also on Wednesday, two foreign tankers carrying Iraqi fuel oil were attacked inside Iraqi territorial waters, according to the Associated Press. Both vessels caught fire, though Iraqi authorities were able to successfully evacuate all 25 crew members from the two vessels. As of late Wednesday, fires remain ablaze on both ships.

• Drone strike hits fuel storage tanks at Oman’s Salalah port: Several drones struck fuel storage tanks at the port of Salalah in southern Oman, causing a large fire but no reported disruption to oil supplies or damage to merchant vessels, according to Omani state media and maritime security firm Ambrey. Iran denied any role in the attack, which a spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters called “highly suspicious.” Salalah is one of Oman’s main commercial and energy hubs on the Arabian Sea coast.

• Bahrain hit once again, and foreign riot police deployed to put down domestic unrest: Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior reported on Wednesday that an Iranian attack hit fuel tanks at a facility in the Muharraq Governorate, where Bahrain International Airport is located. Due to the persistent threat, Bahrain’s Civil Aviation Affairs said it relocated several Gulf Air aircraft and cargo planes to alternative airports, including sites in Saudi Arabia, to ensure “continuity of operations.” Bahrain has also brought in anti-riot forces from Jordan, it was reported on Wednesday, as domestic unrest grows over the kingdom’s role in hosting U.S. forces used in the war with Iran. The move marks the first time since the 2011 Arab Spring that Bahrain has deployed foreign troops to help contain domestic unrest.

• Iranian drones strike Dubai skyscraper: Iranian drones struck Dubai overnight, hitting a skyscraper in the Creek Harbor development and sparking a fire that civil defense crews later contained, with no casualties reported. The strike followed the interception of two drones near Dubai International Airport a day earlier that injured four people.

• Iranian drones strike Kuwait airport and power infrastructure: Iranian drones struck infrastructure in Kuwait on Wednesday, hitting Kuwait International Airport and damaging facilities but causing no reported injuries, according to the country’s Civil Aviation Authority. Shrapnel from interception attempts also struck six power transmission lines, briefly causing limited outages nationwide, the Ministry of Electricity said.

• U.N. Security Council condemns Iranian attacks on Gulf states in new resolution: The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution Wednesday condemning Iran’s attacks on Gulf Cooperation Council states and Jordan, with 13 votes in favor, and Russia and China abstaining. The resolution, presented by Bahrain and co-sponsored by 135 countries, said the strikes violate international law and threaten international peace and security, and condemned Iranian attacks on civilian infrastructure. The measure did not reference the ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that have killed more than 1,300 civilians.

• Iran denies FBI claim of potential drone attack from Mexican territory: Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, rejected reports that Iran could launch drone attacks from Mexican territory, telling Drop Site News the allegation was “totally false.” The denial followed an ABC News report that the FBI warned California police Iran had “allegedly aspired” to launch a surprise drone attack from a vessel off the U.S. West Coast if the United States struck Iran.

• Iran outlines conditions it says are needed to end the war: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said ending the war would require recognition of Iran’s “legitimate rights,” payment of reparations, and firm international guarantees against future aggression. He said he conveyed this position during talks with the leaders of Russia and Pakistan, framing it as Tehran’s proposed path to peace.

• Trump claims war will end soon: President Donald Trump told Axios’ Barak Ravid during an interview on Wednesday that the war with Iran will end “soon” because there is “practically nothing left to target.” “Little this and that... Any time I want it to end, it will end,” Trump reportedly said.

• International Energy Agency says Iran war has caused largest oil supply disruption in history: Oil prices topped $100 per barrel on Thursday before dropping back slightly. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest market report that the war with Iran “is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.” The IEA said crude production was currently down by at least eight million barrels per day, with an additional two million related to petroleum products shut off. On Wednesday, the IEA ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history.

• U.S. to release 172 million barrels from strategic reserve: The United States will release 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a coordinated 400 million-barrel emergency release organized by the International Energy Agency. The Department of Energy said shipments will begin entering distribution next week and deliveries will take about 120 days to complete. Officials say the U.S. plans to replenish the reserve with 200 million barrels over the next year.

Attacks on Lebanon

• Casualty count: The death toll from Israel’s assault on Lebanon has risen to at least 634, including 91 children, with 1,586 wounded, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

• Israeli strikes across Lebanon kill dozens: At least 64 people were killed and 142 injured in Israeli airstrikes across Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley on Wednesday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, with additional strikes Thursday morning killing at least 11 more people and wounding 32, including a “double tap” strike on Ramlet al-Baida, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering in tents.

• Israel issues sweeping displacement order: The Israeli military on Thursday issued a sweeping displacement order for all residents south of the Zahrani River, which lies even further north of the Litani River. Lebanese officials announced earlier that the number of people displaced since March 2 has risen to 816,000.

• Israel orders more forced displacement in Beirut’s southern suburbs: The Israeli military also issued repeated orders to residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, including Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry, Laylaki, Hadath, Burj al-Barajneh, Tahwitat al-Ghadir and Chiyah in Dahieh, to immediately evacuate on Wednesday. “The IDF will not hesitate to target anyone who is near Hezbollah members, its facilities, or its combat equipment,” the statement added. Israeli airstrikes were reported about 30 minutes after the warnings were issued.

• Hezbollah launches major rocket barrage toward northern Israel: Hezbollah fired multiple waves of rockets from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel, with Israeli media reporting around 100 rockets launched and air raid sirens sounding across Haifa, the Galilee, and the Golan Heights. Lebanon’s Al-Manar said eight successive barrages were fired, while Hezbollah later announced the start of what it called the “Operations of the Devouring Storm.” The Israeli military has been instructed to prepare for expanded operations in Lebanon following this barrage of rockets, with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz saying an escalation is aimed at restoring security to northern communities. “If the Lebanese government does not know how to control the territory and prevent Hezbollah from threatening northern communities and firing at Israel,” Katz said, “we will take the territory and do it ourselves.”

The Gaza Genocide, Israel and the West Bank

• Casualty counts: Over the past 24 hours, one Palestinian was killed and nine were injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 72,136 killed, with 171,839 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 651 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 1,741, while 756 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

• Israel strikes Gaza City: Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza City on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring several others. The strike hit a shopping center near Haidar Roundabout. Videos from later on Wednesday night showed airstrikes igniting tents sheltering displaced families, with fires spreading through an encampment.

• Spain permanently withdraws ambassador to Israel: Spain has permanently withdrawn its ambassador to Israel as tensions escalate over Madrid’s opposition to the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Spain’s embassy in Tel Aviv will now be headed by a chargé d’affaires, the Foreign Ministry said. Diplomatic relations have been strained since Spain recognized a Palestinian state and imposed restrictions on weapon shipments to Israel through its ports and airspace.

United States

By Julian Andreone, with Ryan Grim. Have a tip on Capitol Hill? Email Andreone at Julian@dropsitenews.com.

• Elementary school was on U.S. target list relying on outdated targeting data: The girls’ elementary school in Minab where at least 175 people were killed, including 168 children, in a strike in the opening hours of the war was on a U.S. target list and may have been mistaken for a military site, according to the Washington Post citing multiple people familiar with the attack. On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that a preliminary Pentagon investigation into the strike found that the United States was at fault and that the incident may have been the result of using outdated targeting data. The AP also reported that the preliminary Pentagon investigation found that outdated intelligence provided to CENTCOM by the Defense Intelligence Agency likely led to the deadly strike.

• Dozens of senators sign letter to Hegseth calling for answers on deadly Iran school bombing: Over 45 Senators—all of them Democrats or Independents—signed a letter addressed to War Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding answers about whether the U.S. was responsible for the girls’ elementary school strike and what analysis had been done of the site before it was bombed. The letter also raised concerns about Hegseth dismantling congressionally mandated offices set up to reduce civilian casualties. “Under this administration, budgetary and personnel cuts at the Department have robbed military commands of crucial resources to prevent and respond to civilian casualties, including at U.S. Central Command and the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence,” the senators wrote.

• First week of Iran war cost U.S. over $11B: The Pentagon estimates that the first week of the war with Iran cost $11.3 billion, according to the AP, which provided the estimate to Congress in a briefing earlier this week. The U.S. military reported spending $5 billion on munitions alone in the first two days of the war.

• AIPAC backs Bean return in Illinois: Former congresswoman Melissa Bean is attempting a political comeback in Illinois’s Eighth Congressional District, backed by millions of dollars from super PACs tied to AIPAC, pro-AI interests, and cryptocurrency groups ahead of a March 17 primary. Her main challenger is progressive candidate Junaid Ahmed, supported by Justice Democrats, who has raised far less money and is campaigning on issues like affordability and universal child care. More on the Bean-Ahmed race, which has received far less attention than the high-profile race in the nearby Ninth District, is available from our friends at The American Prospect, here.

• Poll finds many Americans believe Iran war linked to Epstein scandal and expect political fallout: A survey of 1,272 likely voters conducted from March 6–8 by Data for Progress for Drop Site News and Zeteo found a 52–40 majority believes that President Donald Trump launched the war with Iran at least partly to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal surrounding his presidency. The poll also found 55% of voters disapprove of the war and nearly half expect it to make their lives more difficult, while respondents said they would be less likely to support candidates who back the conflict or approve additional war funding. The poll’s full results, and an accompanying report, can be found here.

Other International News

• U.S. to permanently close consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan: The U.S. State Department has notified Congress it will permanently close its consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, a mission near the Afghan border that served as a key logistics and diplomatic hub during and after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. Officials said the move, part of a broader downsizing of federal agencies, will save about $7.5 million annually while shifting services to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. The consulate employs 18 American personnel and 89 local staff and will cost about $3 million to shut down, according to the notification obtained by the Associated Press.

• Drone strike on school and clinic in Sudan’s White Nile state kills at least 17: At least 17 people, including nine schoolgirls as well as teachers and health workers, were killed when an explosive-laden drone struck a secondary school and nearby health center in the village of Shukairi in Sudan’s White Nile state, hospital officials and a medical monitoring group told The Associated Press. At least 10 others were wounded, including three girls with serious injuries. The Sudan Doctors Network blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, saying there was no military presence in the village.

• Drone strike on funeral convoy in Sudan kills 40: A drone strike hit a pickup truck carrying mourners to a funeral in Sudan’s West Kordofan state on Tuesday, killing 40 people, mostly women, according to a medical source at Abu Zabad Hospital who spoke to AFP. Many of the victims were members of the same family, a local resident said. The attack came hours after another drone strike killed seven people, including three children, in the city of Dilling.

• Drone strike in rebel-held Goma kills UNICEF aid worker and two civilians: A French aid worker with the United Nations children’s agency and two other people were killed when a drone struck a residential building in Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a city controlled by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, according to Al Jazeera. The UN confirmed the deaths and condemned the attack. M23 blamed the Congolese government for the strike, which the government has yet to comment on.

• Russian drone strike on business in Kharkiv kills two: A Russian drone struck a civilian business in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, killing two people and injuring five others, local officials told Reuters. Kharkiv’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said the attack sparked a fire at the site, while regional authorities reported the wounded were in serious condition. The city, located about 30 kilometers from the Russian border, has been repeatedly targeted since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

• Russia weighs 10% budget cuts as oil revenues fall despite Iran war price spike: Russia’s government is considering cutting about 10% of “non-sensitive” spending in this year’s budget as it grapples with falling energy revenues and an economic slowdown, according to sources cited by Reuters. Officials said the final decision will depend partly on whether the recent surge in oil prices triggered by the Iran war proves sustainable. Military spending on the war in Ukraine and major social obligations would likely be spared from the proposed cuts.

• Right-wing hardliner takes office in Chile: José Antonio Kast was sworn into office pledging to lead an “emergency government” that is poised to implement a hard right shift in Chile that will further align the country with U.S. interests in the region. Kast has already moved on his promise to crack down on migration and taken steps to reduce public spending as part of his pro-market agenda.

Drop Site on the Hill

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) railed against the Trump administration to Drop Site’s Julian Andreone for being beholden to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “It appears as if…the United States is delivering not what is best for the United States, but whatever Netanyahu wants,” she said.

• Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) acknowledged to Andreone that “there are a lot of special interests involved” in Trump’s decision to go to war in Iran, but said regarding Israel’s influence over U.S. foreign policy, “I don’t think it is that prevalent.”

More from Drop Site

• Deadly strike on Tehran’s Resalat Square kills dozens as residents and rescuers search rubble: An overnight airstrike on a residential area near Resalat Square in eastern Tehran killed at least 40 people and destroyed several apartment buildings, with most victims reported to be civilians inside their homes, according to Iranian officials and rescue workers. Neighbors and Iranian Red Crescent teams rushed to the scene, digging through rubble to rescue survivors as the wounded were transported to nearby hospitals. “The continuous noise of screaming and calling for help filled the place,” one rescue worker said. The latest piece from Drop Site contributor Mahmoud Aslan, a collaboration with Egab, is available here.

• Jeremy Scahill joined Breaking Points on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments in the war on Iran. His full appearance is available here.

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