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 07, 2026, 11:10 AM EST

Israeli forces wore uniforms 'similar' to Lebanese army in raid on eastern Lebanon, Lebanese officials say

Israeli ground troops that infiltrated the town of Nabi Chit in eastern Lebanon overnight wore "military uniforms similar to those of the Lebanese army," the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, said Saturday.

Haykal noted that the Lebanese army has "reinforced its deployment" along the Lebanese-Syrian border region and is "maintaining communication with the relevant Syrian authorities," according to the press release.

Destruction is shown at Nabi Chit, Lebanon, after a military strike on March 7, 2026.
Fadel Itani/AFP via Getty Images

He also warned that the Lebanese army in the south of the country is "operating under extremely difficult circumstances amidst escalating Israeli attacks." He said the army is redeploying forces in the Lebanese-Israeli border region and repositioning units within the area south of the Litani River, where the Israeli military has issued forced evacuations for all residents.

"The army is giving considerable attention to addressing the displacement of citizens, providing them with all possible support, protecting shelters, and maintaining security in their vicinity through exceptional security measures," Haykal said in the statement.

-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz

Mar 07, 2026, 9:11 AM EST

Death toll in Lebanon rises to 294 amid ongoing Israeli attacks: Lebanese officials

At least 294 people have been killed and 1,023 others injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in the southern costal city of Tyre, Lebanon, on March 7, 2026.
Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images
A man inspects the debris of destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Haret Hreik neighbourhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, on March 7, 2026.
AFP via Getty Images

-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz

Mar 07, 2026, 9:11 AM EST

IDF issues 2nd forced evacuation for all of south Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday issued a second "urgent warning" to residents south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon -- a vast area -- ordering them to evacuate "immediately" and head north of the river.

"Remaining south of the Litani River may endanger your lives and the lives of your families," the IDF said in a post in Arabic on X.

-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz

Mar 07, 2026, 8:07 AM EST

Trump says Iran 'will be hit very hard' on Saturday

President Donald Trump took to social media on Saturday, saying "Iran will be hit very hard" on Saturday.

"Today Iran will be hit very hard! Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time," Trump said in his post.

"Iran, which is being beat to HELL, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore," Trump said. "This promise was only made because of the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in televised remarks in Farsi on Saturday morning that the United States and Israel “will take their dreams of us surrendering unconditionally to the grave,” according to Iranian state media.

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