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, 7:06 AM EST

Italy to join France, Spain in sending naval assets to Cyprus, minister says

Italy will join France and Spain in sending naval assets to help protect Cyprus, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told the Italian parliament on Thursday.

Crosetto spoke of deploying Italian "naval assets" to defend Cyprus, as quoted by the ANSA news agency.

A British Airbus A400M military aircraft approaches RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base that was hit by a drone, in Cyprus, on March 5, 2026.
Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters

The Mediterranean island, which hosts British military bases, has been targeted by drones since the start of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran.

British bases in Cyprus have traditionally served as hubs for U.K. and allied military activity across the Middle East.

-ABC News' Camilla Alcini

Mar 05, 2026, 6:40 AM EST

77 killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, Health Ministry says

At least 77 people have been killed and 527 others have been wounded by Israeli attacks in Lebanon since dawn on Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Thursday.

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs in Lebanon on March 5, 2026.
Claudia Greco/Reuters

-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz and Morgan Winsor

Mar 05, 2026, 6:25 AM EST

6 injured by falling debris in UAE, officials say

Authorities in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, said on Thursday that six foreign nationals were injured by falling debris after the "successful interception of drones by air defence systems."

Debris fell in two locations in the ICAD 2 area to the south of Abu Dhabi city. "The incident resulted in minor and moderate injuries to six Pakistani and Nepali nationals," the Abu Dhabi Media Office said.

-ABC News Zoe Magee and Morgan Winsor

Mar 05, 2026, 4:36 AM EST

IDF releases video of Iranian jet shot down over Tehran

The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday published a video of what it said was the shooting down of an Iranian Yak-130 fighter jet over Tehran on Wednesday.

An Israeli F-35 "Adir" fighter jet was responsible, the IDF said.

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

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