What's going on with Iran? (Tue, Mar 3, 2026)
Answers to some FAQs, with links
I’ve been reading roughly 100 different publications to understand and track what’s going on with Iran, doing a bit of doomscrolling so you don’t have to. Save your mental health if you can; we’re all going to need it.
Here are the questions I’ve seen asked, along with answers linked to sources so that you can deep dive and check my work.
Q: Why did the US bomb Iran?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated to press that the US knew Israel was going to attack Iran and that Iran would retaliate against the US, so the Administration launched a preemptive attack on Iran to reduce the number of US casualties.
President Trump said the goal was to force regime change and bring ‘freedom’ to Iranians.
Q: Did we free the Iranians? Who’s in charge there now?
While there had been significant anti-government protests in Tehran in January and February, usually attacks by outside forces unite residents of a country, so it is unclear whether the Iranian resistance will survive this.
Q: Why are other countries in the Middle East being bombed or shelled or hit by missiles?
There are a complicated set of alliances in the Middle East.
After the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Iran hit back at Israeli targets and US bases in a number of countries, firing hundreds of ballistic missiles and nearly a thousand attack drones at Israel and U.S. bases in the region, including in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
Hezbollah, a political party in Lebanon, has historically been backed by Iran; they fired missiles at Israel and Israel has fired missiles at Lebanon.
Q: How will this impact most Americans?
The war with Iran is already driving up gas prices and threatening global oil supplies, which means higher costs at the pump and for goods that rely on shipping. US troops are at risk, and there could be more American casualties.
Q: Is this legal under US or international law?
Most legal experts say the US strikes on Iran violate both US law and international law. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but President Trump acted alone. There was also no UN approval, and targeting another country’s leaders is generally considered illegal under international rules.
Q: This is kind of depressing. Are you sure it’s better than doomscrolling?
Well, it’s a lot quicker, and I’ll include ways to make a positive difference below.
Q: What can I actually do about this?
The single most important thing you can do is build and be part of grassroots networks of people, in person or online, who share your beliefs. It is not safe right now to assume that the news media you can see will be accurate or impartial, or that the algorithms will continue to show content the Trump Administration disagrees with.
In addition:
If you’d like to help restore Congressional oversight of war powers in accordance with the Constitution, you should contact your representatives and Senators and tell them that. The Congressional switchboard is (202) 224-3121. (I recommend being nice to the staffers who answer, and tell them clearly in your own words what you believe.)
If you’d like to help organizations who will make a difference for the civilians caught up in the growing war, some good organizations to support include:
Partners in Health, https://www.pih.org, who provide healthcare around the world;
Doctors Without Borders, https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org, who provide healthcare in conflict zones;
The UN Refugee Agency, https://www.unhcr.org, who provide aid to refugees
If you’d like to support antiwar organizations, some choices include:
Peace Action, peaceaction.org
Council for a Livable World, livableworld.org
Win Without War, winwithoutwar.org
If you’d like to support our troops and oppose the war at the same time, VoteVets.org is doing good work
Q: Why does it matter if I join an organization?
Right now, the most essential thing most people can do if they disagree with the Trump Administration is to build the networks that will allow us to connect to each other even if the social media platforms bow to pressure to cut us off, and even if the algorithms suppress our content. Find people you agree with and connect with them. It’s urgent.
How did I get this?
You supported me or something I was working on in the recent past, and I’m trying to help build the resilient networks that can connect us to each other.