Trump calls Strait of Hormuz 'something that we don't need'
Trump told reporters that he is talking to countries about policing the Strait.
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 in Tehran on the first day of strikes. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen on Sunday to succeed him.
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
- IRGC declares it continues efforts to 'pursue and kill' Netanyahu
- CENTCOM calls Iranian claims US targeted Gulf countries a 'lie'
- War with Iran ‘will certainly’ end in next few weeks: Secretary Wright
- Pentagon identifies 6 Air Force airmen killed in KC-135 refueling aircraft crash
- Trump repeats calls for other countries to help with Strait of Hormuz
Trump says ships in Strait of Hormuz need to 'show some guts'
President Donald Trump told Fox News’s Brian Kilmeade on Sunday that ships holding at the Strait of Hormuz need to “show some guts” and push through the channel.
“There's nothing to be afraid of, they have no Navy, we sunk all their ships… and all but 20% of their launchers," Trump said.
The Strait of Hormuz is the critical maritime passageway between Iran, Oman and the UAE through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.
Trump also told Kilmeade he was “not happy” with the selection of Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader of Iran.
-ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr
7th killed service member is identified
The seventh service member to die from Iranian attacks has been identified by the Defense Department as Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky.
Pennington was wounded on March 1 when his base in Saudi Arabia was attacked. He died from his injuries on Sunday, the Defense Department said.
Pennington was at a strategic radar site that’s part of the early warning systems for missile defense, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Vice President JD Vance said Pennington’s body will return to the U.S. Monday night.
IDF begins 'limited' raid in southern Lebanon
The Israeli military said it had begun on Monday a "targeted and limited" raid in southern Lebanon, where it says it's targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.
"Prior to the entry of ground forces, numerous terror targets were struck from the air and ground," the Isreal Defense Forces said on social media.
"This operation aims to strengthen forward defensive positions and provide an additional layer of protection for residents of northern Israel," the military added.
3 injured as Iranian missiles target central Israel, emergency responders say
Two men were in serious condition in Israel after an Iranian missile attack targeted the center of the country, Magen David Adom, the Israeli emergency response organization, said in Hebrew in on social media.
"In another incident in the center of the country, Magen David Adom medics and paramedics are providing medical treatment and evacuating a man approximately 30 years old in serious condition with shrapnel injuries to Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer," the organization said in an update on social media.
The Israel Defense Forces said in an update that its personnel were responding to the impact sites.