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, 1:49 PM GMT

Larijani says attacks on regional nations are targeting US bases

Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, said in a post to X on Sunday that Tehran is launching attacks on regional nations to target U.S. military installations there.

"To the countries of the region: We are not seeking to attack you," Larijani wrote. "But when the bases located in your country are used against us, and when the United States carries out operations in the region relying on these forces, then we will target those bases."

"These bases are not part of the land of those countries; rather, they are American soil," he added.

Since the U.S. and Israel began their strikes on Iran on Saturday, Iranian forces have launched missile and drone attacks at Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman.

Mar 01, 2026, 12:49 PM GMT

Authorities report casualties in central Israel after 'missile barrage'

Israeli emergency services said Sunday that paramedics were treating a number of casualties in the Beit Shemesh region in central Israel following a "missile barrage."

At least one person was reported to be in a "serious condition," the emergency services said.

Video from the scene showed emergency personnel at the scene and a fire in a damaged home.

-ABC News' Dorit Long and Victoria Beaule

Mar 01, 2026, 12:49 PM GMT

US Embassy in Bahrain advises citizens to avoid hotels after attack

The U.S. Embassy in Bahrain advised U.S. citizens in the country "that hotels might be a target for future attacks" and encouraged them to avoid hotels in the capital Manama, following a reported strike on the city's Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The Bahrain Interior Ministry said on Sunday that the hotel was targeted resulting in material damaged but no loss of life.

The U.S. Embassy said it was "tracking confirmed reports the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Manama was struck on March 1, 2026, resulting in injuries."

Bahrain has reported being attacked with multiple waves of Iranian missiles and drones since Saturday.

-ABC News' Victoria Beaule

Mar 01, 2026, 12:03 PM GMT

Regional nations condemn ongoing Iranian strikes

Several neighboring countries -- including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait -- condemned a strike on the port of Duqm in Oman on Sunday.

The attack was the first apparent strike on Oman since the start of the conflict on Saturday.

Qatar called the reported attack "an unacceptable escalation and a cowardly targeting of a country playing an active role in mediation efforts."

Qatar itself reported attacks on Sunday "involving drones and cruise missiles launched by Iran." The country's Interior Ministry reported a fire in an industrial area caused by falling debris.

Elsewhere, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense said it "confronted a number of hostile aerial targets" on Sunday morning.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also reported fresh Iranian attacks on Sunday.

-ABC News Victoria Beaule