Lebanon says nearly 400 killed in Israeli strikes as US confirms death of seventh service member – BBC

Mojtaba Khamenei to Succeed Father as Iran’s Supreme Leader
BBC News
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Mojtaba Khamenei is named as Iran's new supreme leader, state media reports
He replaces his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at his compound in Tehran in the first wave of US and Israeli strikes
US Central Command says a seventh US service member has died from injuries sustained during Iran's initial attack across the Middle East last week
Meanwhile, the price of crude oil has risen above $100 (£75) a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for shipments, remains effectively closed
Lebanon's death toll from Israeli strikes has risen to nearly 400, according to the government's health minister
Our reporter writes one hospital received patients and bodies early this morning after an Israeli strike on a village in the south of the country
Iranians have described scenes in Tehran after oil depots were hit by intense aerial bombardment, with one woman saying "you can smell the burning"
A Saudi Arabia official says two people have been killed after a projectile hit a residential area
Edited by Jake Lapham, with reporting from BBC Persian and correspondents across the Middle East
US President Donald Trump says a sharp increase in oil prices (see earlier post) due to the conflict in the Middle East will correct itself and is a small price to pay for global security.
"Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for USA and World, Safety and Peace," he writes in a post on Truth Social.
"ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!"
The increase in price of crude oil is the highest since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent
The son who worked for decades in the shadow of his father has assumed his mantle, in his conservative mould.
Mojtaba Khamenei is also closely linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the powerful paramilitary force he joined straight out of high school before studying with senior clerics.
It's that continuity and connection that pulled him to the helm.
Two years ago, his father had ruled his son out of the succession, shunning the hereditary rule of the monarchy they ousted. But the besieged clerical rule he left behind is now fighting an existential battle.
The real power now calling the shots is the hardline IRGC who control every lever of power.
Iranians who denounced his father as a dictator will hope his son's days are numbered.
But he sends a message of defiance to President Trump who called him "unacceptable", and to Israel who’s vowed to kill him too.
Peter Hoskins
Business reporter, Singapore
The price of crude oil rose above $100 (£75) a barrel on Sunday after major energy producers in the Middle East cut production.
This was in response to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical chokepoints for oil and gas shipments, staying effectively closed due to the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Brent crude was 18% higher at $108.68 a barrel. The US oil, WTI, increased by almost 20% to $108 a barrel.
This is the highest jump since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when the price of crude soared well above $100 a barrel.
Iran's state broadcaster Irib and the semi-official, IRGC-affilitated Tasnim news agency have both shared a statement credited to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps welcoming the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei.
The statement describes Khamenei as an "all-encompassing jurist, a young thinker and the most knowledgeable on political and social issues".
The IRGC also says it declares its "respect, devotion and obedience" to Khamenei, saying that its members are "ready for complete obedience and self-sacrifice in carrying out the divine commands of the Guardian Jurist".
For context: The IRGC is an armed force charged with protecting and preserving the Islamic Republic, and influences all its levers of power, from security to the economy.
The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council has thanked the Assembly of Experts for selecting Ali Khamenei's successor despite "Trump's threat to bomb it", according to multiple Iranian news agencies.
Ali Larijani says Tehran's "enemies" thought the country would "reach a deadlock" following the death of Ali Khamenei but the Assembly ultimately proceeded with the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei.
Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian
Khamenei attending a demonstration in Tehran in 2019
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was regarded as exerting influence behind the scenes, and has been accused of having hands in presidential elections, commanding the Basij militia, and maintaining close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Despite reports and speculation about his considerable influence, he has not held any official position in the Islamic Republic.
Both his father Ali Khamenei and his predecessor, the founder of the Islamic Republic Ruhollah Khomeini, had criticised hereditary succession in the context of the Pahlavi monarchy, which was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
In 2019, Mojtaba Khamenei was sanctioned by the United States as part of a group of individuals “who are appointees of or have acted for or on behalf of” Iran’s then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Photo of Mojtaba Khamenei shown on Iranian state TV following the announcement of his selection
Over the past week, and again earlier today, US President Donald Trump said he wanted to play a role in the selection of the new Iranian supreme leader.
While he signalled he would be open to someone linked to the old leadership taking over, he made clear his opposition to that someone being Mojtaba Khamenei – who's just been confirmed as his father's successor.
"Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me," Trump said earlier this week. And only a few hours ago, he said that, without his approval, whoever takes over is "not going to last long".
Israel issued a warning before Khamenei's second son was confirmed as the new supreme leader – saying that they will "continue to pursue every successor" to the late ayatollah.
Born on 8 September 1969 in the northeastern city of Mashhad, Mojtaba is the second of Ali Khamenei's six children.
He received his secondary education at the religious Alavi School in Tehran.
At age 17, Mojtaba served in the military for several short periods during the Iran-Iraq War, according to Iranian media. The eight-year bloody conflict made the regime even more suspicious of the US and the West, which supported Iraq.
In 1999, Mojtaba went to Qom, a holy city which is considered an important centre of Shia theology, to continue his religious studies. It is notable that he did not wear clerical clothing until this time.
Unlike his father, Mojtaba has largely kept a low profile. He has never held any government office, nor has he given public speeches or interviews. Only a limited number of photos and videos of him have been published.
However, there are longstanding rumours about his influence as a gatekeeper to his father.
US diplomatic cables, which were published by WikiLeaks in the late 2000s, described him as "the power behind the robes" who was widely regarded as a "capable and forceful leader" within the regime, according to the Associated Press.
A statement from the Assembly of Experts was read aloud by the presenter on state TV:
“Despite the acute wartime conditions and the direct threats of the enemies against this popular institution, and despite the bombing of the offices of the Secretariat of the Assembly of Experts, which resulted in the martyrdom of several staff members and members of its security team, did not pause even for a moment in the process of selecting and introducing the leadership of the Islamic system.”
The presenter then shouted “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Khamenei is the leader.”
Iran's Assembly of Experts has chosen Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader, state media reports.
We can bring you more now from Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who's been speaking to US media today.
Araghchi tells NBC News that President Trump was wrong to say that Iran "already had missiles capable of hitting Europe and our bases, and would soon", when confirming US-Israeli strikes had started.
"This is not true. This is, in fact, disinformation," says the foreign minister, adding that while Iran does have the capability to build missiles, they have "intentionally limited ourselves to 200km (124 miles) of range".
"We don't want to be felt as a threat by anybody else in the world," Araghchi adds. "We have not started any plan to increase the range of our missiles to more than it is now."
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense says it has intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile "launched towards Prince Sultan Air Base".
The military base is located in Al Kharj, 101km (62 miles) southeast of the capital, Riyadh.
Earlier, the ministry had said on X it had foiled two drone attacks "after shooting them down north of Riyadh city".
The foreign minister of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, says no foreign actor will have a role in the selection of the new supreme leader.
US President Donald Trump earlier in the week suggested that the US wants to help choose the successor of Ali Khamenei.
But speaking to NBC News, Araghchi says Iran "allow[s] nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs".
"This is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader," he says. "They have already elected the Assembly of Experts and the Assembly will do their job. It’s only the business of the Iranian people and nobody else’s business."
As we mentioned in our earlier post, we've been monitoring reports in Iranian media on whether a successor to Khamenei has been selected and when an announcement might come. We'll bring you the latest here.
In the past week, the governments of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE all reported what they said were Iranian missile and drone attacks.
Bahrain and Jordan also said they have intercepted missiles fired towards them since the war began on 28 February.
Cyprus, home to two RAF bases, has also faced hostile activity – although British military officials' best assessment is that a drone that hit RAF Akrotiri last Monday was launched in Lebanon by the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.
And on Thursday, Azerbaijan accused Iran of launching drones that it said injured two people in the western territory of Nakhchivan on Thursday. Tehran denied being involved
A seventh US service member has died in the country's war with Iran, the US Defense Department says.
"Last night, a US service member passed away from injuries received during the Iranian regime’s initial attacks across the Middle East," US Central Command (Centcom) confirms in a statement on X.
"The service member was seriously wounded at the scene of an attack on US troops in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on March 1."
The identity of the solider will be withheld until 24 hours after their family is notified, the post adds.
In its latest update, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says the headquarters of the IRGC Air Force – which served as the "main command-and-control" centre to direct Iran's air operations – has been struck.
The IDF adds that the centre played a central role in the planning of missile attacks against Israel and other countries in the region.
Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian
While we have been monitoring reports in Iranian media to determine when, or if, the name of Iran’s next Supreme Leader will be announced, members of the Assembly of Experts (who are responsible for electing the successor) have issued conflicting statements.
Some clerics within the Assembly say a candidate has secured majority support and that an announcement is imminent, while others insist that rumours the vote has already concluded are “completely false”.
US President Donald Trump has rejected the prospect of working with Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the Islamic Republic’s former leader Ali Khamenei, while Israel has warned it will target anyone who succeeds or attempts to appoint a successor to Khamenei.
Late Supreme Leader Khamenei, who was killed in the initial US‑Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February, is yet to be buried.
There was supposed to be a funeral ceremony held for him in Tehran, but authorities postponed it due to what they said was “anticipation of unprecedented turnout”.
Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon
In central Beirut, Lebanese police were conducting investigations today inside the Ramada Hotel, which was hit by an Israeli drone strike overnight.
The Israeli military said the “precise strike" had targeted commanders of Iran’s elite Quds Force while they were meeting at the hotel. It named five men, including three “key" commanders killed in the strike, saying they had been responsible for intelligence gathering and transferring funds to Hezbollah.
The Lebanese health ministry earlier said four people had been killed and 10 injured.
It is the first Israeli strike to hit in the heart of Beirut since hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah resumed last Monday. Another hotel on the outskirts of the capital was targeted earlier in the week.
The streets outside the Ramada – which is located along the coast and is normally popular with business people and tourists but in recent days has been housing some people displaced from their homes – were bustling this afternoon.
People driving past looked out of their windows at the damage from the strike, which hit a corner room at the hotel, leaving the walls blackened and the windows smashed.
On the street outside, I spoke to 43-year-old Mohamed Abbas, who arrived in the Lebanese capital two days ago after being displaced from his home in the south of the country and has been working in a barbershop on the street below the room that was hit.
“This is the centre of Beirut. This is something new,” he said, adding that he believed it showed “Israel doesn’t have a red line”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a direct message to the Iranian people urging them to stand up against the regime.
In a clip shared on X, accompanied by cinematic music and footage of crowds standing together waving the Lion and Sun flag of Iran and the flag of Israel, Netanyahu says his country aims to "liberate Iran… from the yoke of tyranny".
He adds that it's ultimately up to Iranians to "stand up" to end the regime. "I believe that if you stand up at the moment of truth, the day will not be far off when Israel and Iran return to being brave friends," he continues.
Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have publicly said they hope the ongoing conflict could lead to regime change in Iran.
Lebanese media says an air raid has struck near the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein El Hilweh, in the southern city of Sidon.
The country's National News Agency says one of its correspondents has reported two new strikes hit near the camp earlier this afternoon.
Daily newspaper L'Orient Today says two Israeli missiles landed outside Ein El Hilweh camp's northern entrance at approximately 16:30 local time (14:30 GMT). Citing an emergency respondent, the newspaper says there are "several wounded civilians and Lebanese Army Soldiers".
Independent Al Jadeed TV also cites a correspondent as it says one person is believed to have died and three injured in the air raids.
Ein El Hilweh is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. As of 2023, there were nearly 65,000 Palestinians living at the camp, according to the UN.
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