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
Trump says Iran doesn't need to become democratic state, open to religious leader
President Donald Trump elaborated on his vision for Iran’s new leadership in an interview with CNN on Friday, saying Iran does not need to become a democratic state and that he’s open to a religious leader.
“There has to be a leader that’s going be fair and just,” he continued. “Do a great job. Treat the United States and Israel well, and treat the other countries in the Middle East -- they’re all our partners.”
The president also discussed Iranian leadership with Politico on Thursday, saying he is going to have a “big impact” in selecting their next leader. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed last weekend in the US.-Israel attacks.
“Now they’re looking at the son. The reason the father wouldn’t give it to the son is they say he’s incompetent,” Trump told Politico, referring to a son of Khamenei.
Trump also boasted about the military operation in Iran, telling Politico the U.S. is “being surgical” and that the U.S. has “unlimited supply of weapons.”
-ABC News’ Emily Chang
Lebanon death toll reaches 217
At least 217 people have been killed and 798 others have been injured in Lebanon since Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
After Hezbollah said it fired rockets against Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said it started striking targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon.
White House to call on defense contractors to 'more speedily build' weapons
The Trump administration has planned a meeting with the leadership of defense contractors at the White House on Friday to urge the companies to accelerate the production of American-made weapons.
“The President will continue to call on these U.S. companies to more speedily build American-made weapons, which are the absolute best in the world," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Leavitt said the meeting was "scheduled weeks ago," before the U.S. began strikes in Iran. The news of the meeting was first reported by Reuters.
It comes as Trump said on social media Monday that the U.S. has "a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons."
Leavitt said the “U.S. military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and weapons stockpiles to continue demolishing the Iranian regime and achieve the goals of Operation Epic Fury.”
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
Netanyahu: 'On the way to completing all our missions'
"We are on the way to completing all our missions," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday at the site of an Iranian missile attack in southern Israel.
“We are striking the enemy - both at its leadership, its oppressive regime and at various targets, including in Lebanon," Netanyahu said.
"In attack - what is needed are three things: first of all, determination, secondly, initiative, and thirdly, cunning. We have such in abundance, as the enemy has already discovered, and I tell you, citizens of Israel, he will discover even more," Netanyahu added.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller