As Iran retaliates, largest US military base in Middle East hit by ballistic missile, Qatar says

No one was injured, according to the Qatari Ministry of Defense.

ByJon Haworth, Jack Moore, Nadine El-Bawab, David Brennan, Kevin Shalvey, Meredith Deliso, and Leah Sarnoff
Last Updated: March 3, 2026, 10:02 PM EST

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Saturday, with daytime strikes in the joint U.S.-Israel attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.

On Sunday, Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed by airstrikes in Tehran on Saturday.

Iran is responding to the U.S.-Israeli operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and Gulf nations. American diplomatic facilities have also been attacked.

In Lebanon, Israel is intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iranian-aligned Hezbollah militia.

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.
Feb 28, 2026, 11:30 PM EST

Iranian-backed group claims responsibility for drone strike after explosion near airport in Erbil, Iraq

A fire continues to burn at Erbil international airport in the Kurdistan region of Iraq after an explosion at daybreak. The Iranian-backed group Islamic Resistance in Iraq has now claimed responsibility for the strike.

What exactly is on fire remains unclear, but it is burning in an area that is comprises a number of military base buildings.

PHOTO: IRAQ-IRAN-ISRAEL-US-CONFLICT
A plume of smoke rises near Erbil International Airport in Erbil on March 1, 2026. Loud explosions were heard early on March 1 near Erbil airport, which hosts US-led coalition troops in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, an AFP journalist said.
Shvan Harki/AFP via Getty Images

This base has been the target of repeated missile and drone attacks in the past.

-ABC News' Bader Katy and Paul P. Murphy

Feb 28, 2026, 8:47 PM EST

Iranian state TV reports Khamenei's death

Iranian state TV confirmed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death Saturday night.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei adjusts his eyeglasses during a press conference after casting his ballot for the parliamentary runoff elections in Tehran, May 10, 2024.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images

Khamenei was "carrying out his assigned duties," and was "in his workplace" when he was killed "in the early hours of Sunday morning," according to the announcement.

Iranian state TV said claims from Israeli media that Khamenei was "in a secure and hidden location" when he was killed were false.

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman

Feb 28, 2026, 8:35 PM EST

Israeli Defense Forces launches 'another wave of strikes' against Iran

The Israeli defense forces have launched "another wave of strikes," against Iran, the IDF said in a post on X.

The post said it was targeting the regime's "ballistic missile array and air defense systems."

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman

Feb 28, 2026, 7:31 PM EST

Kamala Harris calls strikes 'dangerous and unnecessary gamble with American lives'

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, in a statement posted on social media on Saturday, criticized Trump's strikes on Iran as "dragging the United States into a war the American people do not want," calling the gambit a "dangerous and unnecessary gamble with American lives that also jeopardizes stability in the region and our standing in the world."

A missile is launched after U.S. Central Command commenced Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 2026.
U.S. Central Command

"I know the threat that Iran poses, and they must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, but this is not the way to dismantle that threat ... And let us all be clear-eyed about what comes next. The President has already said this conflict may produce American casualties," Harris wrote.

She also criticized Trump's campaign promise to not start new wars as "a lie", as well as Trump's claim last year that he had obliterated Iran's main nuclear program.

-ABC News' Oren Oppenheim

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