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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Feb 28, 2026, 1:28 PM GMT

Iran says Trump has turned 'America First' into 'Israel First'

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the U.S.-Israel strikes were "wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate."

"Trump has turned 'America First' into 'Israel First'-which always means 'America Last,' Araghchi wrote in a post on X Saturday. "Our Powerful Armed Forces are prepared for this day and will teach the aggressors the lesson they deserve."

Araghchi shared a screenshot of an October 2012 social media post from President Donald Trump.

"Now that Obama's poll numbers are in tailspin - watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate," Trump wrote in the post on X.

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian

Feb 28, 2026, 1:02 PM GMT

Oman foreign minister: 'I urge the United States not to get sucked in further'

The Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi, who had been mediating U.S.-Iran talks and had traveled to Washington, D.C., on Friday, posted on X saying, "I am dismayed" and that "Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined."

"I urge the United States not to get sucked in further. This is not your war," he said.

-ABC News' Lama Hasan

Feb 28, 2026, 12:43 PM GMT

Iran's ayatollah and president targeted: Sources

Three sources briefed on the U.S.-Israeli attack told ABC News that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were both targeted.

Feb 28, 2026, 12:47 PM GMT

US has intercepted Iranian missiles targeting bases and allies: Official

The U.S. has intercepted multiple Iranian missiles that were targeting U.S. bases and allies in the Middle East according to a U.S. official.

One source in the region said 14 Iranian missiles were launched toward the United Arab Emirates and were intercepted.

The source said Iran has launched missiles against Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar.

-ABC News' Jonathan Karl and Luis Martinez