LIVE: Trump Wants To Be Involved In Picking The Next Iranian Leader
Trump calls Khamenei’s son an ‘unacceptable’ pick
DUBAI, UAE: Iran launched a new wave of attacks against Israel, American bases and countries around the region Thursday, while warning the U.S. would “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship . Tehran’s expanding retaliatory strikes and increasing shows of defiance came even as Israel and the U.S. hammered Iran for a sixth day.
The war has escalated each day, affecting an additional 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond. On Thursday, Azerbaijan accused Iran of attacking it with drones — though Tehran denied that. A day earlier, the U.S. said it sank an Iranian frigate in the waters off Sri Lanka.
All the while, the U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities leadership and nuclear program . Israeli and American leaders have also suggested that toppling the government was a goal — and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed when they launched the war Saturday. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, and the conflict increasingly appeared to be open-ended.
Iran’s attacks have targeted their Arab neighbors, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel.
The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed.
Iran remains defiant Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an “an atrocity at sea” for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean earlier in the week, killing at least 87 people.
“Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set,” he said on social media.
An Iranian cleric later called on state television for the shedding of both Israeli and “Trump’s blood.”
The statement from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli represented a rare call for violence by an Ayatollah, one of the highest ranks within the clergy of Shiite Islam. There are dozens in Iran. — AP
What to know:
- A Sri Lankan minister said Thursday that another Iranian ship has arrived in its waters, a day after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the country’s coast, killing at least 87 people and wounding 32 others. Government spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa confirmed the presence of the second Iranian ship in response to a question in parliament. But he did not provide further details about the ship or the number of people on board. He said the government was making an “intervention to minimize loss of lives and to safeguard the regional peace.”
- U.S. Senate Republicans rejected a bill to halt the war against Iran in an early show of support for Trump’s campaign. The resolution, which failed 47-53, demanded congressional approval before any further attacks. A twin bill in the House also faces an unlikely path against a GOP majority when lawmakers vote on it Thursday morning.
- Iranian state television aired a message Thursday from an ayatollah in Iran calling for the “shedding” of blood from Israelis and U.S. President Donald Trump. The message came from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli and represented a rare call for violence by an ayatollah.
Live Updates
- 5 March 2026 8:38 AM IST
New Zealand to deploy military planes to evacuate its citizens back home
New Zealand’s government will deploy two military planes to the Middle East so that New Zealanders can be evacuated when conditions permit, officials said Thursday.Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defense Minister Judith Collins said in a statement that the government was also speaking to commercial airlines, including to discuss charter flight options. Commercial services from Dubai to Auckland, New Zealand, are not currently operating.There are about 3,000 New Zealanders known to be living in the Middle East, officials said.“We cannot be sure when and how any civilian evacuation operations might be possible, but we want to be ready if and when conditions on the ground make them possible,” Peters said. - 5 March 2026 6:54 AM IST
Israel says defensive systems working to intercept missiles from Iran
Israel said it identified missiles launched toward the country from Iran very early on Thursday morning, and its defensive systems were working to intercept them.Shortly before that announcement, Israel had said its forces had begun strikes against Hezbollah in Beirut, as the war moved into its sixth day. - 5 March 2026 6:39 AM IST
Qatar evacuates residents near U.S. embassy as precaution
Qatar’s Interior Ministry said Thursday that authorities were evacuating residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution.No further details or threats were immediately reported.Since the start of the U.S.–Israel war with Iran, American diplomatic missions across the Middle East have faced heightened threats, closures and evacuations as Iranian missiles and drones have targeted or prompted alerts at U.S. embassies and consulates. - 5 March 2026 6:29 AM IST
The United States said that more than 17,500 American citizens have safely returned from the Middle East since February 28, as Washington stepped up evacuation and assistance efforts amid escalating security concerns in the region. In a media note issued by the Department of State, Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson said that over 8,500 US citizens returned to the country on Tuesday alone, marking one of the largest single-day movements in recent weeks.
