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.)
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Key Headlines
- Iran’s near-total internet blackout continues, tracker says
- Israel warns of strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs
- Israel says its working to intercept Iranian missiles
- Iranian missiles, drones targeting UAE, ministry says
- US orders evacuation of non-emergency government employees from Saudi Arabia
- More missile and drone attacks reported in the region
Qatar Airways flights grounded until Friday
Qatar Airways said Wednesday that its flight operations "remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace," with the airline expecting to "resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace."
The airline said its next update will be provided on Friday by 9 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET).
-ABC News' Jessica Gorman
Regional strikes, alerts continue into war's fifth day
Regional nations continued to face Iranian attacks overnight, officials said, as the U.S.-Israeli operation entered its fifth day.
The Saudi Defense Ministry reported the interception of nine drones and two cruise missiles.
In Kuwait, the Defense Ministry's spokesperson said that several "hostile aerial targets" were intercepted within the nation's airspace. Debris fell onto a residential home, the spokesperson said, causing damage and injuries.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry issued an alert after the sounding of air raid sirens, urging residents to take shelter.
The Israel Defense Forces also issued new alerts for Iranian ballistic missile launches overnight.
The U.K.'s Maritime Trade Operations Centre, meanwhile, reported another maritime incident 7 nautical miles east of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. A vessel, it said, was "struck by an unknown projectile causing damage to the steel plating."
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Lebanon death toll rises to 50 people, Health Ministry says
The death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon rose to 50 people as of Tuesday evening, according to the country's Health Ministry.
Another 335 people have been wounded since Israel began intensifying strikes across the country -- including in the capital Beirut -- on Monday, health officials said.
-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz and Will Gretsky
Israel targets Iranian internal security forces in overnight strikes
The Israeli military launched an assault overnight on buildings affiliated with Iran’s internal security forces, with the Israeli Air Force carrying out "an additional wave of airstrikes targeting regime-affiliated sites across Tehran," the Israel Defense Forces said.
Airstrikes targeted "dozens" of sites connected to those forces, IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a post in Arabic on social media early on Wednesday.
The IDF said it dropped "numerous" munitions on headquarters belonging to the Basij Militia, forces that had been employed by the former supreme leader in quelling domestic unrest.
"These headquarters were used by the Iranian regime to maintain its stability and tighten its control across various parts of Iran by shaping the operational situation picture," Adraee said.
He added, "Additionally, the Supply and Logistics Directorate affiliated with the regime's Ground Forces was targeted, along with missile launch platforms and defensive systems."
Strike’s on infrastructure related to the Iranian regime were expected to "continue to deepen," he said.