• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2026 ABC News
ABC News

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 6, 2026, 4:45 PM

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 06, 2026 4:45 PM

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.

PHOTO: A woman gestures while holding an image of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the day of an anti-Israeli and U.S. rally, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 6, 2026.
Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters
A woman gestures while holding an image of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the day of an anti-Israeli and U.S. rally, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 6, 2026.
Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters


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


Mar 06, 2026 4:40 PM

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.

PHOTO: Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Friday, March 6, 2026.
Hussein Malla/AP
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Friday, March 6, 2026.
Hussein Malla/AP


After Hezbollah said it fired rockets against Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said it started striking targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon.


Mar 06, 2026 4:01 PM

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.

PHOTO: Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley fires Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 4, 2026.
US Navy
Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley fires Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 4, 2026.
US Navy


“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



Mar 06, 2026 3:48 PM

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.

PHOTO: People stand on the rubble of a damaged building after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following renewed hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 6, 2026.
Reuters
People stand on the rubble of a damaged building after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following renewed hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 6, 2026.
Reuters


"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


Mar 04, 2026 6:36 PM

Trump to attend dignified transfer of killed service members

President Donald Trump will attend the dignified transfer of the six U.S. service members killed in this weekend’s retaliatory attack by Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.

Four of the six have been identified: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. All four died Saturday in Kuwait from an Iranian drone attack.


GMA Newsletters

Sign up for our newsletters to get GMA delivered to your inbox every morning!

Up Next in news

PHOTO: King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive for a state dinner at the White House, April 28, 2026 in Washington.

King Charles III visit live updates: Charles, Camilla to attend packed day of events in New York City

April 29, 2026
VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post

Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post

April 29, 2026
PHOTO: In this screen grab from a video, Andon Market is shown in San Francisco, Calif.

This San Francisco shop is run completely by an AI agent

April 23, 2026

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2026 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2026 ABC News