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.

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Mar 01, 2026, 11:20 AM GMT

Iran's president says revenge for Khamenei killing a 'legitimate duty'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a statement on Sunday morning saying that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was "martyred at the hands of the most wicked villains in the world."

"The assassination of the highest political official of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the prominent leader and authority of the Shiite world by the sinister American-Zionist axis is considered a declaration of open war on Muslims, especially Shiites, in all corners of the world," Pezeshkian said.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran considers bloodshed and revenge against the perpetrators and commanders of this historical crime as its legitimate duty and right, and will do its utmost to fulfil this great responsibility and duty," Pezeshkian said.

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Victoria Beaule

Mar 01, 2026, 11:18 AM GMT

Larijani says US 'will never achieve their goals'

Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, appeared in a television interview on Sunday to mourn killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and vow retaliation against the U.S.

"The passing of a great personality has wounded the hearts of all of us," Larijani said, adding that, "Americans should know that by stabbing the hearts of the Iranian nation, their hearts will be stabbed."

"What they did in a cruel way towards the Iranian leadership has angered the people so much that they will never achieve their goals," he said.

Larijani added that a temporary leadership council would be formed consisting of the president, the head of the judiciary and one of the jurists of the Guardian Council.

Larijani also posted to X on Sunday morning saying that Saturday's attacks on Iran "did hurt" but that Iran would hit the U.S. and Israel "with a force they have never experienced before."

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Victoria Beaule

Mar 01, 2026, 11:17 AM GMT

2 people injured by drone debris in Dubai, government says

The Dubai Media Office in the United Arab Emirates said in a post to X on Sunday that two people were injured in Dubai by "debris from drones intercepted by air defenses," which fell into the courtyards of two homes.

"The injured have received the necessary medical care," the post said. "Authorities also clarified that the sounds heard across the emirate were the result of successful interception operations."

In neighboring Abu Dhabi, the emirate's official media office said on Sunday two people -- including a child -- were also injured by drone debris that struck "the facade of one of the buildings at Etihad Towers."

Mar 01, 2026, 11:16 AM GMT

Oil tanker attacked off coast of Oman, maritime body says

Oman's Maritime Security Center said in a statement on Sunday morning that the Palau-flagged Skylight oil tanker was attacked while around 5 nautical miles north of the country's Khasab Port.

All 20 crewmembers -- 15 Indians and five Iranians -- were evacuated, the center said. "Preliminary information" indicated that crewmembers were injured, the statement added.

The center did not attribute responsibility for the attack on the tanker. The Skylight was located in the Strait of Hormuz when attacked, maritime tracking websites suggested.