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.
Assembly said to be nearing decision on new Iranian leader
One of the members of the Assembly of Experts -- the body that chooses the leader of the Islamic Republic -- said that the assembly has reached a "firm opinion," about the next leader that represents the view of majority of its members.
“An almost final decision has been reached,” Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri said in a video published by the semi-official Fars News Agency.
Spelling did not reveal who the assembly’s candidate is. Mirbagheri said members of the Assembly of Experts have been working hard on their task, but added that there are "obstacles" due to the "difficult circumstances."
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian
Mar 08, 2026, 7:07 AM EDT
22 killed in Lebanon on Sunday, including 3 killed in Beirut hotel strike, media and ministry say
Israeli strikes continued to hit Lebanon overnight and into Sunday morning.
Overnight, three people were killed and nine others were wounded, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, in what appeared to be a targeted strike on an upscale hotel in Beirut, outside the evacuation order area.
Damaged hotel rooms which were hit by Israeli strike are seen in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 8, 2026.
Hussein Malla/AP
Since midnight, 22 people have been killed, most of them in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.
-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz and Victoria Beaule
Mar 08, 2026, 6:28 AM EDT
Acid rain warning issued in Tehran after oil depot fire
Fires caused by Israeli strikes on oil reservoirs in Tehran on Saturday were still burning on Sunday, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported Sunday.
Due to the high volume of flammable materials, it was not possible to completely extinguish the fire at the moment, and the existing fuel must be allowed to burn gradually while conditions are managed, Fars said, quoting experts.
A resident stands on the roof of his house covered with soot after overnight strike on the Tehran Oil Refinery in Tehran on March 8, 2026.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
Tehran residents were warned to protect themselves against acid and toxic rain following the massive fire.
Iran's Environmental Protection Agency issued a statement saying that the entry of a significant amount of pollutants into Tehran's air following recent U.S. and Israeli attacks on fuel depots has put citizens' respiratory health at risk, state media reported Sunday. The organization urged citizens to avoid unnecessary outdoor activities and stay indoors as much as possible.
Smoke continues to rise after a reported strike on fuel tanks in an oil refinery, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026.
Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters
Iran's Red Crescent Society also warned that explosions at the tanks have released toxic compounds, including hydrocarbons and sulfur and nitrogen oxides, into the atmosphere, which could become highly dangerous and acidic if it rains, state media reported Sunday.
The Red Crescent added that such rainfall could cause chemical burns to the skin and serious damage to the lungs.
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian
Mar 08, 2026, 6:22 AM EDT
More than 9,600 homes, commercial buildings damaged in Iran, Red Crescent says
At least 9,669 civilian sites, including homes and commercial sites, across Iran have been damaged in recent U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, Iran's Red Crescent Society said on Sunday.
Smoke billows after airstrikes on oil depots on March 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.
Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
According to a post on the IRCS’s X account, the total number of those damaged or destroyed included at least 7,943 residential units, 32 medical and pharmaceutical centers, 65 schools and educational centers, and 1,617 commercial buildings.
