Mojtaba Khamenei chosen as Iran's next supreme leader, Iranian state media reports

He is the son of assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

ByDavid Brennan, Jon Haworth, Kevin Shalvey, Leah Sarnoff, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, and Bill Hutchinson
Last Updated: March 9, 2026, 5:55 AM EDT

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.

Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed by airstrikes in Tehran on the first day of strikes. His successor is yet to be named.

Iran is responding to the operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

(Read previous Iran live updates here.)

Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Mar 05, 2026, 3:55 AM EST

Qatar Airways to start limited number of relief flights

Qatar Airways said in a post to X that it would "start operating a limited number [of] relief flights" from Thursday "to support passengers who are stranded due to the current situation across the region."

A Qatar Airways plane sits on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on March 3, 2026.
Daniel Cole/Reuters

The airline said the planned flights are from Muscat in Oman to London Heathrow, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rome and Amsterdam. Also planned is a flight from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to Frankfurt.

Qatar Airways said that all other flight operations remain suspended due to the continued closure of Qatari airspace. Its next update is due on Friday, the airline said.

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

Mar 05, 2026, 3:46 AM EST

Israel launching new 'wave of strikes' in Tehran, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday morning that it had "begun a large-scale wave of strikes" on Tehran.

A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital of Tehran on March 5, 2026.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

Mar 05, 2026, 3:46 AM EST

IDF reports more strikes on Beirut

The Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday it had launched fresh strikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut, targeting what it alleged were Hezbollah command centers.

A van drives past a destroyed building following airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs on March 5, 2026.
-/AFP via Getty Images

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

Mar 05, 2026, 2:45 AM EST

Araghchi says US will 'bitterly regret' sinking Iranian ship

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the U.S. sinking of the IRIS Dena frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

An explosion hits what the U.S. Department of Defense said is an Iranian warship at the sea, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on March 4, 2026.
Department Of Defense/via Reuters

In a post to X on Thursday, Araghchi described the submarine attack as "an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores."

"Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning," the foreign minister said. "Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set."

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