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.)
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
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
New England Patriots plane used for State Department charter flight
The State Department has shared a photo of Americans in the Middle East boarding what appears to a New England Patriots team plane. Assistant Secretary of Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson said the chartered State Department flight landed safely in Washington, D.C., Friday morning.
"This flight was entirely paid for by the State Department," an official said. "The New England Patriots organization were not involved in this flight."
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
UAE intercepts over 100 drones and at least 9 missiles Friday
Air defenses in the United Arab Emirates have intercepted at least 109 drones and nine ballistic missiles on Friday, the Ministry of Defense said in a post on X.
Three drones made it through air defense Friday, officials said.
"Since the start of the brazen Iranian aggression, 205 ballistic missiles have been detected, with 190 ballistic missiles destroyed, while 13 of them fell in the sea, and 2 missiles fell within the country's territory," the statement said.
"Additionally, 1,184 Iranian drones were detected and 1,110 of them were intercepted, while 74 drones fell within the country's territory. Eight cruise missiles were also detected and destroyed," the statement continued.
-ABC News' Othon Leyva