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.
Iran's Air Force headquarters were targeted during wide-scale Israeli military strikes on dozens of Iranian regime facilities, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The headquarters, according to the IDF, was the main command-and-control center used to direct the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' air force activity, including the regime's ballistic missile command, its unmanned aerial vehicle fleet and other air force units.
"The Air Force Headquarters was also responsible for producing a situational picture and for planning missile attacks on the State of Israel and the countries in the region," the IDF said.
-ABC News' William Gretsky
Mar 08, 2026, 3:11 PM EDT
IDF says 5 senior Iranian commanders killed in Beirut hotel strike
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday that it killed five Iranian senior commanders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a strike on a hotel in Beirut, Lebanon.
The commanders were targeted by the Israeli Navy, according to the IDF. The commanders were part of the IRGC's Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps, which serves as a central liaison between the Hezbollah terrorist organization and the Iranian regime, the IDF said.
Israeli tanks on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in northern Israel, March 8, 2026.
Amir Cohen/Reuters
"Its senior officials synchronize activities across the various terrorist organizations operating in Lebanon. The commanders eliminated in the strike were advancing terrorist activity across Lebanon while hiding in a civilian hotel," the IDF said.
The commanders were targeted following the elimination of the commander of the Lebanon Corps, Daoud Ali Zadea, last week, the IDF said.
-ABC News' Dorit Long
Mar 08, 2026, 2:23 PM EDT
State Department says more than 32,000 Americans have safely evacuated the Middle East
The State Department said Sunday that it is now aware of 32,000 Americans who have safely returned to the United States from the Middle East since fighting began in Iran.
The figures do not include many Americans who have safely relocated to other countries or those who have departed the Middle East but are still in transit back to the United States, officials said.
Americans board a U.S. Department of State flight on a plane chartered from a company that manages the New England Patriots team plane that left the Middle East bound for Washington, Mar 5, 2026.
U.S. Department of State/X
The State Department said it has completed nearly two dozen charter flights that have safely evacuated thousands of Americans from the Middle East.
While commercial flight availability across the region continues to improve, the State Department's charter flights and ground transport operations continue to ramp up as security conditions allow, Dylan Johnson,assistant secretary of state for Global Public Affairs, said in a statement on X.
"At this time, more than half of American citizens who requested help departing turn down U.S. Government-provided transportation options when contacted. Some American citizens wish to remain in country, while others prefer an alternative departure option," Johnson said.
Through the State Department’s around-the-clock Task Force, the agency has directly assisted more than 19,000 Americans abroad, offering security guidance and travel assistance, Johnson said.
Johnson said Americans in need of travel assistance in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel should complete the Crisis Intake Form.
Americans in the Middle East who need assistance can call the U.S. Department of State at (202) 501-4444.
-ABC News' Chris Boccia
Mar 08, 2026, 1:13 PM EDT
Assembly of Experts member says majority leaning toward Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as next leader
A member of Iran's Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for choosing the leader of the Islamic Republic, said Sunday that the majority of assembly members want the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, to be Iran's next leader.
No official decision has been made, but it is the first time an assembly member has publicly spoken out.
Mojtaba, son of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, attends the annual Quds, or Jerusalem Day rally in Tehran, Iran, May 31, 2019.
Vahid Salemi/AP
"The enemy is trying to disrupt a majority in-person meeting of the Assembly of Experts by attacks, but the members of the Assembly of Experts have practically reached an option," Asgar Dirbaz, member of the Assembly of Experts, said in an interview with the Mehr News Agency.
"The majority's opinion is in favor of the son of His Eminence (i.e., Ali Khamenei's son)," Dirbaz added.
