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

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

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.

Mar 06, 2026, 4:52 PM EST

Trump: 'No deal with Iran except unconditional surrender'

President Donald Trump wrote on social media on Friday that “there will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction,” he wrote.

Smoke rises from the site of airstrikes in a central area of the Iranian capital Tehran, March 6, 2026.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images

Later on Friday, in a phone interview with Axios, Trump explained, "Unconditional surrender could be that [the Iranians] announce it. But it could also be when they can't fight any longer because they don't have anyone or anything to fight with."

-ABC News' Emily Chang

Mar 06, 2026, 4:25 PM EST

Qatar Airways starting repatriation flights on Saturday

Qatar Airways said it will start repatriation flights on Saturday. The flights will depart from Doha and head to London, Paris, Madrid, Rome and Frankfurt.

"Priority on these flights was given to stranded passengers with families, elderly passengers, and those with urgent medical and compassionate travel needs," the airline said in a post on X. "We are working around the clock to organise additional relief flights where operationally possible and will share further updates as soon as they are confirmed."

Mar 06, 2026, 4:20 PM EST

US says it's hit 3,000 targets in Iran

U.S. has struck 3,000 targets inside Iran and sunk 43 Iranian Navy ships in the seven days of Operation Epic Fury, CENTCOM said.

U.S. Sailors prepare ordnance on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury, Mar. 4, 2026.
US Navy
Mar 06, 2026, 2:17 PM EST

60% of Iran's missile launchers destroyed, IDF says

Sixty percent of Iran's missile launchers and "large amounts of missile stockpiles have been neutralized" in joint strikes by Israel and the U.S., according to the Israel Defense Forces.

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