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 02, 2026, 5:20 AM GMT

'We will not negotiate with the United States,' Iranian official says

Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Larijani, released a statement on X on Monday, saying, "We will not negotiate with the United States."

Larijani's statement was in response to a report about a possible resumption of talks with the U.S. in the wake of the operation in Iran over the weekend.

In another post, Larijani mentioned the American casualties in the operation, which left three U.S. service members killed and five wounded.

"Trump plunged the region into chaos with his 'delusional fantasies' and now fears more American troop casualties," Larijani said.

"Today, the Iranian nation is defending itself. The armed forces of Iran did not initiate the aggression," he added.

ByLuke Barr ABCNews logo
Mar 02, 2026, 4:30 AM GMT

Department of Homeland Security warns of potential attacks amid Iran operation

The Department of Homeland Security has warned of potential lone-wolf and cyberattacks amid the ongoing strikes in Iran, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News.

"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.

"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," officials said in the bulletin.

The alert was issued on Saturday, a day before a gunman opened fire in Austin, Texas, and authorities are investigating whether or not the suspect was inspired by the situation overseas.

Law enforcement sources told ABC News the suspect was wearing a sweatshirt with "Property of Allah" on it and underneath, a shirt with "Iran" and the Iranian flag on it.

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Mar 02, 2026, 3:47 AM GMT

Shrapnel from intercepted missile starts fire, killing 1 in Bahrain

Bahrain's Interior Ministry released a statement saying one person was killed and two others were injured after a fire broke out on a foreign ship in Salman Industrial City, as a result of falling debris from an intercepted missile.

Officials said the fire has been brought under control and extinguished.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

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Mar 02, 2026, 3:47 AM GMT

US, Saudi Arabia, UAE and more issue joint statement condemning Iranian retaliation

The U.S. has released a joint statement with governments of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE -- all countries impacted by retaliation from Iran over the weekend -- to say they "strongly condemn" the regime's "indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks" on countries across the region.

"The Islamic Republic's actions represent a dangerous escalation that violates the sovereignty of multiple states and threatens regional stability," the statement reads. "The targeting of civilians and of countries not engaged in hostilities is reckless and destabilizing behavior."

-ABC News' Shannon Kingston