Democracy Dies with Dictatorship
NY Times
Mar 23, 2026
Iran War Live Updates: Power Outages Reported in Tehran After Fresh Israeli Strikes
Israel’s military said it was targeting infrastructure in the Iranian capital. The head of the International Energy Agency warned that the global energy crisis caused by the war was now worse than the oil shocks of the 1970s.
by Aaron BoxermanJulian BarnesIsabel Kershner and Ravi Mattu
Residents reported blackouts across large parts of Tehran, the Iranian capital, after heavy airstrikes struck multiple areas of the city early Monday. The outages came shortly after Israel announced it would target infrastructure in Iran, without providing more details.
With the war now in its fourth week and showing little signs of easing, the threats underscored the growing risk to civilians across the Middle East. More than 2,000 people have been killed, most of them in Iran and Lebanon. The head of the International Energy Agency warned Monday that the global energy crisis caused by the conflict was now worse than the oil shocks in 1973 and 1979 combined.
Iranian state media reported explosions across Tehran on Monday, and residents described power outages after sustained strikes in the city’s eastern, western and northern regions.
President Trump warned over the weekend that the United States would strike Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route, was not fully reopened by Monday night Eastern time. Iran dismissed the ultimatum and threatened to retaliate against energy facilities in countries hosting American troops and desalination plants that are a lifeline for much of the region.
Iranian officials said the strait would be “completely closed” if Mr. Trump were to carry out his threat.
The price of oil is up more than 50 percent since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February and set off a wider conflict in the region. That price hike is in large part because of Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Markets tumbled across Asia on Monday amid concerns about the ongoing disruption to critical energy supplies.
Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, told the National Press Club in Australia on Monday that global policymakers had yet to appreciate the depth of the energy turmoil. He said that oil shocks in the 1970s had led to a loss of 10 million barrels per day, whereas daily losses from the current crisis have hit 11 million barrels.
Mr. Trump, at times, has suggested that the war might end soon, although his statements have frequently been contradictory. Israeli officials have consistently told the public to expect a protracted conflict that could last weeks.
Here’s what else to follow today:
Israeli air defenses: Israel’s military faced scrutiny on Sunday about Iranian missiles that hit Dimona, a city eight miles away from Israel’s main nuclear facility, and the nearby city of Arad on Saturday night. More than 10 people were seriously injured and dozens more hurt in the strikes, renewing concerns that Israel might be holding back on using its most sophisticated air defenses to avoid depleting them.
Attacks in Lebanon: Israel’s military chief said on Sunday that its campaign against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed armed group in Lebanon, had “only just begun,” adding that Israeli forces were preparing to push deeper into that country. Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, ordered the military to step up the demolition of bridges and houses in Lebanon, deepening fears that Israel is preparing for a long-term occupation in the country’s south.
Death tolls: Iran’s U.N. ambassador said that at least 1,348 civilians had been killed in the country since the start of the war — a toll that has not been updated for over a week. On Friday, a Washington-based group, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, reported that at least 1,398 civilians had been killed. More than 1,000 people in Lebanon have been killed, the authorities there said on Thursday. At least 15 people have been killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials have said. The American death toll stood at 13 service members.
March 23, 2026, 6:27 a.m. ET21 minutes ago
Reporting from London
After Iran’s attempted missile attack on Friday on a joint U.S.-British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said Monday that there was “no assessment” that the U.K. was being targeted by Iranian missiles.
“We carry out assessments all the time in order to keep us safe, and there’s no assessment that we’re being targeted in that way at all,” he told reporters. The strike came before Britain announced it would allow the U.S. expanded use of its bases, including in Diego Garcia. Mr. Starmer added Monday that “de-escalation” was needed in the conflict, and that it was important to him to defend British interests “without getting dragged into the war.”
March 23, 2026, 6:14 a.m. ET32 minutes ago
Reporting from New Delhi, India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India told lawmakers on Monday that the war in Iran was having an “unprecedented” effect on his country and has disrupted its access to foreign markets. India is a major customer of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf and is more exposed than many big economies to the crisis in the Middle East.
Nearly 10 million Indian citizens also live in the Gulf, and many Indian sailors are stranded on ships in the region since the Strait of Hormuz has effectively been closed by Iran.
March 23, 2026, 5:39 a.m. ET1 hour ago
Reporting from London
Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, warned that the crisis caused by the war in the Middle East was worse than the oil shocks in 1973 and 1979 combined, and that global policy makers had yet to appreciate the depth of the problem. He told the National Press Club in Australia that the 1970s shocks had led to a loss of 10 million barrels per day, whereas daily losses from the current crisis have already hit 11 million barrels. Birol said the I.E.A. was in talks with governments in Asia and Europe to release more stockpiled oil. “If it is necessary, of course, we will do it,” he said.
March 23, 2026, 4:14 a.m. ET3 hours ago
Stock markets tumbled across Asia amid concerns over the continued disruption of critical energy supplies. The Kospi index in South Korea shed 6.5 percent and stocks in Japan, China and Hong Kong all fell about 3.5 percent. The price of Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, rose more than 1 percent to over $113 a barrel while the U.S. benchmark jumped above $100.
March 23, 2026, 1:18 a.m. ET5 hours ago
Stocks tumble as oil prices rise amid the conflict in the Middle East.
Stocks tumbled and the price of oil rose on Monday as investors braced for the start of a fourth week of market turmoil caused by the war in the Middle East as a wave of new strikes on Iran knocked out power across large parts of Tehran.
On Sunday, the United States and Iran traded threats over potential attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Global stocks sink.
Stocks in Europe opened lower, with the Stoxx 600, a broad European index, falling more than 1 percent. The DAX in Germany shed 2 percent, and the FTSE 100 in Britain was down more than 1 percent.
Stock markets in Asia, where economies are especially vulnerable to the shock of rising energy costs, also tumbled on Monday.
The worst performer was the Kospi index in South Korea, which plummeted 6.5 percent. The Nikkei index in Japan dropped 3.5 percent, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong traded 4 percent lower.
Futures on the S&P 500 pointed to a drop of 0.5 percent when stocks resume trading in the United States on Monday. On Friday, the S&P 500 closed 1.5 percent lower.
Nikkei
51,00052,00053,00054,00055,000
Note: Data delayed at least 15 minutes.
Source: FactSet.
The New York Times
U.S. gasoline prices continue to climb.
Gas prices rose again on Monday, with the national average at $3.96 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. The increase has raised the cost for drivers almost 33 percent since the war began.
Diesel prices have increased even more quickly, reaching $5.29 a gallon, up 41 percent since the start of the war, on Sunday.
Oil prices jump.
The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, went up to $114 a barrel. Brent settled at $112.19 a barrel on Friday.
West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, jumped to $10 a barrel. W.T.I. settled at $98.23 on Friday.
Investors and analysts across the world are focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trading route for oil and natural gas that normally carries as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. Shipping traffic exiting the Persian Gulf through the strait has been effectively halted because of the risk that vessels could be attacked.
Price of Brent Crude Oil
105110$115 per barrel
Iran War Live Updates: Power Outages Reported in Tehran After Fresh Israeli Strikes - The New York Times
Notes: Data shows future contract prices for Brent crude oil. Data delayed at least 15 minutes.
Source: FactSet.
The New York Times
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March 23, 2026, 12:28 a.m. ET6 hours ago
International reporter
Power is out in large parts of Tehran after heavy airstrikes struck multiple areas of the capital early Monday, according to multiple residents in different neighborhoods. Iranian media reported explosions across Tehran, and residents described sustained strikes across eastern, western and northern regions of the city.
Israel’s military had said it would target Tehran’s infrastructure shortly before the strikes, but did not provide further details about what exactly it would target.
March 22, 2026, 11:00 p.m. ET8 hours ago
Dan Watson
Israel’s military said early Monday that it had begun a new wave of strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure in Tehran.