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
Hegseth argues war isn't expanding
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back on the notion that the war is expanding in the Middle East due to Iran's attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf or that there's "chaos."
"Nothing could be further from the truth," he said during Thursday's briefing. "If anything, what Iran is doing by targeting allied countries that would otherwise want to stay out of this, they've actually pulled them into the American orbit."
Hegseth argued it's "actually firming up the unity of the resistance."
"Now you've got UAE and Qatar and Bahrain and Saudi and Kuwait and others saying, 'Hey, we're with you here. We'll shoot with you. We'll fly with you,'" he said.
Iranian missile attacks down 90% since 1st day of war: CENTCOM
Iranian missile attacks have decreased 90% since the first day of the war, according to CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper.
Iranian drone attacks have also fallen 83%, he said. A drone attack is what killed six American troops in Kuwait over the weekend.
"In just the last hour, U.S. B2 bombers dropped dozens of 2000-pound penetrator bombs targeting deeply buried ballistic missile launchers," Cooper said. "Notably, we've also struck Iran's equivalent of Space Command, which degrades their ability to threaten Americans."
-ABC News' Steve Banyon
Over 30 Iranian ships destroyed: CENTCOM commander
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said over 30 Iranian ships have been destroyed since the U.S. began its strikes.
"You may have heard the president say just a little while ago that we have sunk or destroyed 24 ships. That was true at the moment. We're now up over 30 ships," Cooper said during a briefing Thursday.
He also said the U.S. hit an Iranian drone carrier a few hours ago.
"As we speak, it's on fire," he said.
Hegseth: US has enough munitions to sustain campaign 'as long as we need to'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. has enough munitions to sustain its campaign against Iran "as long as we need to," while giving an update at U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday.
"We've got no shortage of munitions," he said. "Our stockpiles of defensive and offensive weapons allow us to sustain this campaign as long as we need to."