Watch "Shockwaves: The Attack on Iran – ABC News Special," airing Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Saturday, with daytime strikes in the joint U.S.-Israel attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.
On Sunday, Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed by airstrikes in Tehran on Saturday.
Iran is responding to the U.S.-Israeli operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and several Gulf nations. On Sunday, Israel said it was again bombing targets in Tehran.
Latest Developments
Mar 1, 3:23 PMUAE closes its embassy in Tehran, withdraws ambassador
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday that it is closing its embassy in Tehran and withdrawing its ambassador to Iran.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said in the same statement that it is withdrawing all members of its diplomatic mission in Iran.The decision was made "in response to the blatant Iranian missile attacks that targeted the UAE's territory," the statement reads, in part."These hostile attacks against civilian sites, including residential areas, airports, ports, and service facilities, endangered innocent civilians in a serious and irresponsible escalation and constitute a flagrant violation of national sovereignty, as well as a clear breach of international law and the Charter of the United Nations," the statement further said.-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian
Mar 1, 1:47 PMOmani foreign minister says Iran open to 'any serious efforts' to reduce tensions
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told his Omani counterpart on Sunday that Tehran welcomes "any serious efforts contributing to de-escalation and the restoration of stability," according to a social media post from the Oman News Agency.
The post said Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidii, who had been mediating the negotiations between the United States and Iran leading up to Saturday's joint U.S.-Israel military operation, spoke with Araghchi by phone.
Araghchi "conveyed the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which calls for peace, noting that the Israeli-US attack upon his country had exacerbated tension and alarm throughout the region, while affirming the Iranian side's openness to any serious efforts contributing to de-escalation and the restoration of stability," the post read.
The post further said al-Busaidii "affirms the Sultanate of Oman's continued advocacy for a ceasefire and a return to dialogue and negotiation to resolve the ongoing conflict through diplomatic means."
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian
Mar 1, 1:01 PMIran's state-run TV building targeted, broadcaster says
Iran's state-run Islamic Republic State TV announced Sunday that its broadcasting building was targeted in the joint U.S.-Israel attacks.A state TV presenter said that an American-Israeli attack targeted the country's broadcasting building. The presenter added that state TV broadcasting continues as usual as technical teams assess the situation.-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian
Mar 1, 12:54 PMTrump says 9 Iranian naval ships 'destroyed and sunk'
President Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that U.S. military forces "destroyed and sunk" nine Iranian naval ships and that Iran's naval headquarters had also sustained major damage since strikes against the country began on Saturday."I have just been informed that we have destroyed and sunk 9 Iranian Naval Ships, some of them relatively large and important," Trump said in a social media post. "We are going after the rest -- they will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea, also!"
The president said Iran's Naval Headquarters was also attacked, adding, "We largely destroyed their Naval Headquarters. Other than that, their Navy is doing very well!"
Earlier Sunday, U.S. Central Command said in anonline postthat "an Iranian Jamaran-class corvette was struck by U.S. forces during the start of Operation Epic Fury. The ship is currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman at a Chah Bahar pier."-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr and Cindy Smith
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Mar 1, 12:09 PMCIA had been tracking Khamenei for months prior to attack
The CIA had been tracking Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei for months prior to Saturday's U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, a source familiar with the intelligence confirmed to ABC News.When they learned there would be a meeting of top leaders on Saturday with the Supreme leader, the timing of the attack was moved, the source said, adding that the agency had high confidence in their analysis.
These details were first reported by The New York Times.Khamenei was killedin Saturday's attacks.A second source told ABC News that Israel had been planning for months with its own intelligence to target Iranian leadership, according to a person familiar with the operation.-ABC News' Cindy Smith and Anne Flaherty
Mar 1, 11:34 AMIsrael 'striking the heart of Tehran,' Netanyahu says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces were "striking the heart of Tehran with increasing strength, which will increase even more in the coming days."Netanyahu's comments were part of a recorded video message in which said he had "given instructions for the continuation of the campaign" after meeting with senior Israeli officials, including "the minister of defense, the chief of staff and the head of the Mossad," Israel's national intelligence agency.
Netanyahu also said the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks had "eliminated dozens of senior officials of the oppressive regime" in addition to "the dictator Khamenei," referring to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Saturday's attacks.He also addressed reports of Israelis killed and injured in retaliatory strikes on Israel, saying "These are painful days. ... My heart goes out to the families.""We are in a campaign in which we are bringing the entire strength of the IDF, as never before, to this campaign to ensure our existence and our future," Netanyahu said. "But we are also bringing to this campaign the assistance of the United States, my friend, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, the U.S. military. This combination of forces allows us to do what I have been hoping to do for 40 years: to strike the terrorist regime squarely in the face. I promised, and so we will."-ABC News' Victoria Beaule
Mar 1, 8:35 AMIsrael reports 9 dead, 49 injured in 'missile barrage'
Israeli Emergency Services said on Sunday that nine people were killed and 49 were injured in a "missile barrage" in the Beit Shemesh region in central Israel.A spokesperson for the emergency service, also known as MDA, announced that paramedics were treating casualties after a missile barrage fired at Israel on Saturday and overnight.The injured were taken to hospitals in Jerusalem and Shamir, including three people in serious condition, three "moderately injured" and 43 "lightly injured," according to the MDA.
Rescue operations were also underway to locate any people who may be trapped in debris from the attacks, according to the Israel Fire and Rescue Service.-ABC News' Dorit Long and Victoria Beaule
Mar 1, 8:54 AMIran forms interim leadership council, state TV reports
The interim leadership council of Iran has been formed following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian state TV reported Sunday.According to the Islamic Republic's constitution, the interim leadership council is comprised of the president, the head of the judiciary and one of the members of the six "faghihs" – Islamic jurists who are scholars of Islamic law – of the Guardian Council.
According to the spokesperson for Iran's Guardian Council, since the faghih member of the Guardian Council to join the interim leadership council has been chosen, the leadership council is already formed."The constitution provides for the current situation and the Leadership Council will be in charge until the leadership is determined," the Guardian Council spokesman said on state TV.According to the law, the leadership must be determined as soon as possible, given the war conditions, according to a post on Iranian state TV's Telegram account.-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian
Mar 1, 8:06 AM3 killed in Iranian attacks on UAE, Defense Ministry says
The United Arab Emirates' Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that three people had been killed and 58 people injured in Iranian attacks since Saturday.
The ministry said that since the start of the conflict, Iran had launched 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 541 drones toward the country. Of those, 152 ballistic missiles, both cruise missiles and 506 drones were intercepted. Thirteen ballistic missiles also fell into the sea, the ministry said.Thirty-five drones "fell within the country's territory" causing "material damage" and casualties, the ministry said. Those killed were from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, the statement said.
Mar 1, 8:06 AMLarijani 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.
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Watch "Shockwaves: The Attack on Iran – ABC News Special," airing Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming on D...
