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 08, 2026, 7:14 PM EDT

Trump says oil prices are a 'very small price to pay' for safety and peace

President Donald Trump took to social media on Sunday, posting about the war in Iran's impact on oil prices.

Trump said that "short term oil prices" are a "very small price to pay" for safety and peace across the world.

PHOTO: President Trump Spends Weekend At Mar-a-Lago Resort In Florida
IN FLIGHT- MARCH 7:U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media traveling on Air Force One while heading to Miami on March 7, 2026. President Trump and other members of the government attended the dignified transfer of six soldiers from the 103rd Sustainment Command who were killed in action by an Iranian drone strike on March 1 in Port Shuabia, Kuwait during "Operation Epic Fury". (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

"Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!" he wrote.

Oil prices have risen above $100 a barrel as the war continues. This means even higher gas prices are coming to the pump. Oil is trading at about $101 a barrel, up 11%.

-ABC News' Isabella Murray

Mar 08, 2026, 7:04 PM EDT

Injuries and damage reported in Bahrain as strikes continue

Strikes from Iran were continuing in Bahrain Sunday night into Monday morning, according to the country's interior ministry.

Officials said injuries among citizens were reported, with one of them being serious. The number of those injured was not released.

The interior ministry said a number of houses in Sitra were damaged in the drone attacks.

Mar 08, 2026, 5:32 PM EDT

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

Mojtaba Khamenei, the second-oldest son of assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been chosen as the next supreme leader of Iran, according to Iranian state media.

He has become the third leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran by the vote of the Assembly of Experts, state media reported Sunday.

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

Mojtaba, 56, has long been viewed by analysts as a possible successor to Khamenei, who was killed last Saturday by a series of airstrikes in Tehran in the opening salvos of the U.S.-Israeli campaign. 

Analysts have broadly characterized Mojtaba as a powerful figure with limited public and international profiles, operating somewhat behind the scenes but enjoying major influence.

Mar 08, 2026, 3:46 PM EDT

Iran's Air Force headquarters targeted, says IDF

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

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