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Mojtaba Khamenei chosen as Iran's next supreme leader, Iranian state media reports

PHOTO: Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is seen in Tehran, October 30, 2024.
3:05
AFP via Getty Images
US strikes in Iran aim to protect vital shipping route
By David Brennan, Jon Haworth, Kevin Shalvey, Leah Sarnoff, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, Bill Hutchinson
Last Updated: March 9, 2026, 8:06 AM

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.)

Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

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
Here's how the news is developing.

Mar 09, 2026 8:06 AM

Iran’s near-total internet blackout continues, tracker says

A near-total internet blackout in Iran entered its 10th day on Monday, with connectivity at about 1% of its normal level, according to NetBlocks, a web tracker.

"As regional hostilities intensify, some 90 million Iranians are silenced and cut off from the global internet under a state-imposed shutdown," the tracker said on social media on Monday.

⚠️ Update: #Iran's internet blackout has entered its tenth day with connectivity at 1% of ordinary levels after the 216th hour.As regional hostilities intensify, some 90 million Iranians are silenced and cut off from the global internet under a state-imposed shutdown. pic.twitter.com/FNrSKvqBBP

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) March 9, 2026


Mar 09, 2026 7:34 AM

Israel warns of strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs

The Israeli military said it would "operate with force" on Monday against what it described as Hezbollah-related targets in Beirut's southern suburbs, saying it was issuing a warning for residents in the area to evacuate.

PHOTO: Smoke plumes rise from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on March 9, 2026.
Fadel Itani/AFP via Getty Images
Smoke plumes rise from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on March 9, 2026.
Fadel Itani/AFP via Getty Images

"In the coming hours, the Israel Defense Forces will operate with force against the terrorist infrastructure of Al-Qard al-Hasan Association, which constitutes a central element in financing Hezbollah's terrorist activities and harms the Lebanese economy in service of Iranian interests," Avichay Adraee, a spokesperson for the Isreal Defense Forces, said in Arabic on social media.


Mar 09, 2026 6:39 AM

Israel says its working to intercept Iranian missiles

Iran on Monday launched missiles toward Israel, which the country’s defenses were working to intercept, the Israel Defense Forces said.

PHOTO: Rocket trails are seen in the sky above the Israeli center coastal city of Netanya amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks on March 9, 2026.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
Rocket trails are seen in the sky above the Israeli center coastal city of Netanya amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks on March 9, 2026.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

"The IDF has identified that missiles were launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel a short while ago," the IDF said. "Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat."



Mar 09, 2026 6:13 AM

Iranian missiles, drones targeting UAE, ministry says

Iranian missiles and drones were targeting the United Arab Emirates on Monday, the country’s Ministry of Defense said.

"UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran," the ministry said on social media. "MOD asserts that the sounds heard are the result of the Air Defence."


Mar 08, 2026 3:06 PM

Trump says next supreme leader 'is not going to last long' without his OK

As the Iranians get closer to naming their next supreme leader, President Donald Trump said Sunday the new leader "is not going to last long" if the Iranians don't get his approval first.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while traveling aboard Air Force One en route from Dover Air Force Base, Del., to Miami, March 7, 2026.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while traveling aboard Air Force One en route from Dover Air Force Base, Del., to Miami, March 7, 2026.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP

"He’s going to have to get approval from us," Trump told ABC News' chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce. "If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it."

The president added, "I don’t want people to have to go back in five years and have to do the same thing again, or worse, let them have a nuclear weapon," he said.

-ABC News' Mary Bruce and Justin Fishel


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