NPR News: 02-28-2026 7PM EST

0:00The U.S. launches a military operation against Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime. On State of the World, we'll bring you the latest on the operation, as well as reaction from the region and around the globe. Listen to State of the World on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. President Trump says Iran's supreme leader, Ali Hamanay, is dead, though Iran hasn't confirmed this. NPR's Daniel Kurzleben reports Trump also announced that the U.S. will be bombing Iran indefinitely in a Saturday afternoon social media post. In his post, Trump called Hamanay one of the most evil people in history and touted the U.S. intelligence and technology that had led to Hamanay's death. Earlier today, Trump had urged Iranians to quote, take over your government. Trump in his post said he hopes the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and

1:02Iranian police will join the people in that. He added that the U.S. bombing campaign quote, will continue uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary to achieve our objective of peace throughout the Middle East and, indeed, the world. In an interview with Iran's state news agency today, Red Crescent has said that more than 200 people have been killed and more than 700 wounded thus far in the strikes. Daniel Kurzleben and P.R. News. Iran's been striking Gulf-era bases hosting U.S. troops in response to deadly Israeli and U.S. attacks on the country. Evier Zaya Batrawi reports civilian areas in the Gulf have also been targeted, including Dubai Airport, the world's busiest for transit. Dubai's build as a safe haven, a playground for the rich. It has no bomb shelters or bunkers, but on Saturday, people's phones here beeped with the sound of national emergency alerts, telling them to seek shelter and quote secure buildings due to missile threats. In a first for this Emirate, fighter jets flew overhead, an interceptor shot down Iranian missiles targeting Dubai throughout the day and past midnight.

2:05Debris fell near the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower. The Fairmont hotel on Dubai's iconic Palm Island was also hit, possibly by a drone or debris, catching fire and wounding people. Nearby Abu Dhabi, says a person there was killed by fallen debris as upscale parts of that Emirate also saw fiery debris falling. Meanwhile Kuwait's airport was hit and a residential tower in Bahrain was struck by an exploding Iranian drone. Evier Zaya Batrawi and P.R. News, Dubai. Russia's condemning the strikes warning they risk destabilizing the wider Middle East, and P.R. Charles Main's reports. The foreign ministry statement called the U.S. Israeli strikes on Iran a pre-planned and unprovoked act of aggression and demanded an immediate return to diplomatic talks. The ministry also accused Washington and Tel Aviv of falsely hyping threats surrounding Iran's nuclear program to pursue regime change, and warn the Middle East was in danger of plunging into a cycle of uncontrolled escalation. The Russian response was in line with its objections to recent U.S. military pressure against Kremlin allies in Venezuela, Cuba and elsewhere in the Middle East. It Moscow has thus far stepped back from taking more

3:08forceful actions, with the vast majority of its military resources devoted to the war in Ukraine. Charles Main's and P.R. News, Moscow. Russia has been a key trade partner for Iran. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Library of Congress has found and restored a long-lost film by the pioneering 19th-century French film maker, Georges Malia. NPR's Glouivelbin reports experts are saying this is likely the first instance of a robot ever captured in a moving image. The 45-second-long silent film, Gugusilutumat, or Gugusin the Automaton, is nearly 130 years old. But the subject matter feels very timely. A child-sized robot clown grows to the size of an adult and then attacks a human clown with a stick. The human then destroys the machine with a hammer. In an Instagram post, Library of Congress's moving image curator, Jason Evans-Groth, says the film arrived in a box from a donor in Michigan, Bill McFarland. McFarland's great-grandfather, William DeLyle Frisbee,

4:12a Pennsylvania potato farmer and schoolteacher, was fascinated by new technologies. Must have bought a projector and a bunch of films and decided to drive them around in his buggy to share them with folks in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York. The film is available on the Library of Congress's website, Chloe Valtman, NPR News. Michelangelo's The Last Judgment is getting spruced up. Restores at the Vatican Museums are removing the chalky white film of salt that's accumulated over the fresco since the last major renovation three decades ago. And they're using a simple technique Japanese rice paper that's been dipped in distilled water and then applied to the fresco to remove the film. That film comes from many visitors to the Vatican Museums. I'm Janine Herbst NPR News in Washington. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.