Iran live updates: 7th killed service member is identified

Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, was killed in Saudi Arabia.

ByDavid Brennan, Jon Haworth, Kevin Shalvey, Leah Sarnoff, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, and Bill Hutchinson ABCNews logo
Last updated: Monday, March 9, 2026 3:00PM GMT
ABC News Live

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.

------

For updates in Spanish, click here.

ABCNews logo
Mar 01, 2026, 1:55 AM GMT

UAE says it has intercepted more than 100 Iranian missiles

The UAE intercepted 137 ballistic missiles and 195 drones launched from Iran towards the country since the start of the Iranian attack, the UAE's Ministry of Defense said in a post on X.

Out of the 137 missiles launched towards the UAE, 132 were destroyed, and five fell into the sea, the ministry said.

Out of the 209 drones detected, 195 were intercepted. The other 14 landed within UAE territory and waters, "causing some" damage, the ministry said.

-ABC News' Victoria Beaule

Mar 01, 2026, 1:49 AM GMT

1 dead, more than 25 injured in Israel after attack

Traces of air defense missile interceptions are seen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.
Traces of air defense missile interceptions are seen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.

More than 25 people have been injured and at least one person has died in Israel on Saturday, according to Icholov Hospital, Tel Aviv Medical Center and Magen David Adom, Israel's national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service.

Out of the 25 injured who have been evacuated and taken to the Ichilov Emergency Department, four are in moderate condition. The others are in mild condition.

Seven of the injured are children, but have minor injuries.

-ABC News' Dana Savir and Ellie Kaufman

ABCNews logo
Mar 01, 2026, 1:45 AM GMT

Homeland Security issues alert to local law enforcement, including cyber attack threat

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a critical incident alert following the U.S. strikes on Iran.

"Although a large-scale physical attack is unlikely, Iran and its proxies probably pose a persistent threat of targeted attacks in the Homeland, and will almost certainly escalate retaliatory actions--or calls to action--if reports of the Ayatollah's death are confirmed," according to the bulletin, which was obtained by ABC.

"In the short-term, we are most concerned that Iran-aligned hacktivists will conduct low-level cyber attacks against US networks, such as website defacements and distributed denial-of-service attacks," the alert added.

-ABC News' Luke Barr and Mike Levine

ABCNews logo
Mar 01, 2026, 2:02 AM GMT

'Heavy and pinpoint bombing' to continue 'uninterrupted throughout the week', Trump says

President Donald Trump talking with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles at Mar-a-Lago.
President Donald Trump talking with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles at Mar-a-Lago.

President Donald Trump said the bombing targeting Iran will continue throughout the week or even longer.

In a post on his social media platform announcing the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Trump called on the military and police to "peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots" to take back the country.

"The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!" Trump said in the post.