Welcome to today’s Morning Brief, where we’re looking at protests in Tunisia, investigations into the poisoning of Iranian schoolgirls, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s warnings about the eastern city of Bakhmut.

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Hundreds of Tunisians have taken to the streets to protest Tunisian President Kais Saied’s anti-migrant crackdown. Saied has claimed that undocumented migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were part of an orchestrated attempt to change Tunisia and has resorted to increasingly xenophobic rhetoric in recent weeks as opposition to his government increases.

There are social media reports of crowds trying to forcibly evict migrants from their homes and police arresting parents fetching their children from daycare. So, too, have there been reports of companies refusing to sell to individuals they believe to be undocumented.

Protesters chanted, “No fear, no terror, the street is for the people,” and claimed solidarity with migrants and with the African continent.

The Guardian reported that the Ministry of Interior appeared to be treading gently with the protesters, taking a “deliberately light touch.”

In recent weeks, Saied, who suspended parliament and dismissed the country’s prime minister in the summer of 2021, has moved against his critics. He has called opponents “traitors and terrorists,” had prominent opposition figures arrested, and threatened judges with legal action if they acquitted detainees. Food shortages and a sluggish economy are also cutting into support for the president, who is pushing back against his critics with threats, portraying himself as the guardian of national security while presenting his opponents—and foreigners, especially Black Africans—as security threats.

Explaining U.S. trade policy. Join U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Foreign Policy Editor-in-Chief Ravi Agrawal today, Wednesday, March 1, at 1:00 PM ET for a conversation on the Biden administration’s trade and economic policies and their global impact. Subscribers can submit questions in advance.

Iran investigating the poisoning of nearly 700 schoolgirls. Hundreds of Iranian schoolgirls are believed to have been exposed to toxic gas since November. “It became evident that some people wanted all schools, especially girls’ schools, to be closed down,” said Iran’s deputy health minister, who later backpedaled, claiming he had been misunderstood.

Iran’s prosecutor general has opened an investigation. No one has died, but dozens have suffered problems like dizziness and fatigue, and public frustration is increasing. Some Iranians suspect that the poisonings are retaliation for the girls’ participation in protests last year, while others believe they are the work of religious hardliners.

Zelensky says the situation in Bakhmut is worsening. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the situation in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut is becoming “more and more difficult.” For six months, Russians have been trying to take the city. Now, Zelensky said, “The enemy is constantly destroying everything that can be used to protect our positions.” According to reports, fighting has recently intensified, but Ukrainian forces are not showing any intent to withdraw.

Moscow’s governor, meanwhile, has said that a drone that crashed in the Moscow region was sent to try to target civilian infrastructure. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for such an attack, but Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to Ukraine’s ministry of internal affairs, tweeted out a photo of the drone along with the words, “It is more than 500km away from Russian border with Ukraine. Soon Putin might get very afraid to show himself in public as drones can reach far distances.” Putin, for his part, said Tuesday, “We need to beef up our counterintelligence in general, because Western special services have traditionally been very active in relation to Russia.”

Greece train crash. At least 36 people were killed when a freight train and passenger train collided head-on in northern Greece around midnight; at least 85 people were injured. The passenger train was traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki. Police are questioning a local stationmaster. According to the Washington Post, Greece has one of the worst rail safety records of 29 countries analyzed in an EU study, with the highest overall rail fatality rate.

Finland builds border fence with Russia. Finland has started building a 124-mile fence on its border with Russia, a security upgrade from the light wooden fences it has currently. Finland apparently decided to build the fence as a result of a reported increase in Russians trying to flee the country to avoid conscription in their country’s war in Ukraine. Fence construction is permitted under new amendments to its Border Guard Act, which passed in July. Cameras, lights, and loudspeakers are also set to be installed.

•The Conversation About Ukraine Is Cracking Apart by Stephen M. Walt

•The State Department’s Lack of Diversity Is Bad for U.S. Diplomacy by Jalina Porter

•China’s Farmland Is in Serious Trouble by Zongyuan Zoe Liu

Friends forever. Russian President Vladimir Putin has given Steven Seagal the Order of Friendship Award, a recognition of contributions to international relations. Seagal, a supporter of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, is also a Russian citizen, having become one by presidential decree back in 2016.