Up First from NPR Middle East At War, Congress Briefed On War, Texas and North Carolina Primaries
236 snips
Mar 3, 2026 
Ashley Lopez, NPR political correspondent on Senate primary showdowns in Texas and North Carolina. Barbara Sprunt, NPR congressional correspondent on Capitol reactions and looming War Powers votes. Daniel Estrin, NPR foreign correspondent reporting from Tel Aviv on the expanding Middle East war. They discuss regional strikes, congressional divisions over the briefing, and high-stakes primaries that could signal midterm trends.
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Israel Focused On Degrading Iran's Missile Capacity
- Israel shifted strikes from symbolic targets to Iran's missile infrastructure to reduce incoming attacks on Israeli territory.
- Daniel Estrin reported Israel said it destroyed hundreds of ballistic missiles and dozens of launchers, which correlated with a sharp drop in missile attacks.
Mixed Messages About Whether Regime Change Is The Goal
- Israeli officials offered mixed messages about war goals, including regime change, while U.S. officials downplayed that aim publicly.
- Estrin noted Israel isn't planning ground invasions of Iran and U.S. officials say regime change would only be 'nice.'
War Expands Regionally With Multiple Fronts Heating Up
- The conflict is expanding regionally with Hezbollah opening fire from Lebanon and Israel moving troops to patrol the border.
- Estrin described the Lebanon exchanges as low-grade so far, while Gulf confrontations involved Iranian strikes on U.S. positions and Qatar shooting down Iranian warplanes.