Seyit Kurt
09 March 2026•Update: 09 March 2026
ISTANBUL
Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday, including Iran appointing Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader; a US National Guard member dying in Kuwait, marking the eighth US military death since the Iran war began; and Lebanese authorities saying nearly 400 people have been killed and over 1,110 injured in ongoing Israeli attacks since early March.
TOP STORIES
- Iran appoints Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader
Iran’s Assembly of Experts has appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the nation’s new supreme leader, succeeding his father, Ali Khamenei, Press TV reported.
The appointment of Mojtaba, a mid-ranking cleric with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, came after Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on Feb. 28.
- US National Guard member dies in Kuwait, marking 8th US military death since Iran war began
A member of the US National Guard died during a medical emergency in Kuwait on March 6, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said, marking the eighth US military death since the Iran war began.
In a statement posted on the US social media company X’s platform, CENTCOM said the guardsman died in a “health-related incident.”
“The exact cause of death is under review,” it said.
- Lebanon says nearly 400 killed, over 1,110 injured in ongoing Israeli attacks
At least 394 people have been killed and 1,130 injured in ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2, the country’s health minister said.
Rakan Nassereddine told a press conference that 42 women and 83 children were among those killed in the attacks, while the injured included 274 women and 254 children.
Israel has expanded its military campaign in Lebanon since March 2 following limited rocket fire by the Hezbollah group amid broader regional tensions linked to the war launched by Israel and the US against Iran.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- US President Donald Trump said he ruled out Kurdish involvement in the war with Iran, saying Washington does not want the war to become “more complex.”
- Iran’s army said 104 crew members of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena were killed and 32 others injured in a US attack last week.
- Iran’s military threatened to attack oil facilities in the region in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on its energy infrastructure.
- The Greens and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are in a close race for first place in the state elections of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, media reports said, as the Greens are leading at between 31.5% and 32%.
- More than 32,000 US citizens have returned to the US from the Middle East since the start of joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran, the State Department said.
- Three Palestinians were killed, including a paramedic, and three others injured when an Israeli strike targeted a group of civilians near a mosque west of Gaza City, marking another violation of the ceasefire in place since Oct. 10, 2025.
- Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan met with China’s Middle East envoy in Riyadh to discuss the latest developments in the region, according to the Saudi Foreign Ministry.
- The Netherlands and Ukraine agreed to expand cooperation in defense and drone production.
- The Czech government will not increase defense spending beyond the planned 155 billion Czech koruna ($7.3 billion) for 2026 -- about 1.73% of gross domestic product -- despite growing pressure from the United States to boost military outlays, Radio Prague International reported, citing Czech Television.
- Nigerian troops killed 45 members of armed criminal gangs during an operation in the country’s northwest after the groups attacked local communities, the Katsina State government said.
- Egypt called for the formation of a joint Arab force to address Iranian threats facing Jordan, Iraq and Gulf states amid escalating regional tensions.
- Recent US and Israeli strikes in Iran damaged hospitals and other civilian facilities located near military targets, raising concerns about the risks of bombing in densely populated areas, according to a CNN forensic investigation.
- The United Arab Emirates denied Israeli media reports claiming that the Gulf nation had attacked a water desalination facility in Iran.
- At least three Indonesian crew members are missing after a UAE-flagged tugboat sank in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, according to Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry.
- UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Britain will not "outsource" its foreign policy decisions, pushing back against criticism from US President Donald Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the government's stance on military action involving Iran.
- Iran will intensify its offensive operations against Israel and the United States as of Sunday night, an Iranian military official told the Fars News Agency.
- Over 1,330 civilians, including around 300 children, have been killed in Iran amid continuing attacks by the US and Israel, while damage to infrastructure across the country is also rising rapidly, Iran’s ambassador to the UN said.
- Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed to respond to US-Israeli attacks launched from any country, stressing that his country views its neighbors as "brothers.”
- Human Rights Watch has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a primary school in southern Iran, saying the strike should be investigated as a possible war crime, media reports said.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
- US spent about $6B in 1st week of Iran war: Pentagon officials
The first week of the US military campaign against Iran has cost roughly $6 billion, Pentagon officials told Congress.
About $4 billion of that total alone was spent on munitions expenditures and advanced interceptors designed to shoot down Iranian missiles, according to the New York Times.
The figures were disclosed during discussions in Congress, where senior defense officials also indicated that further funding will be required to sustain operations and replenish depleted stockpiles.
- Oil prices surge past $105 per barrel after Iran names new supreme leader
Crude oil prices surged past $105 per barrel and briefly peaked at $108 after Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran’s new supreme leader following the death of his father in a US-Israeli airstrike.
Data from Trading Economics showed crude benchmarks climbing sharply as markets reacted to developments in Iran amid rising Middle East tensions and growing uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route.
Earlier Sunday, Iranian authorities confirmed that Mojtaba Khamenei had been chosen as the country’s new supreme leader.
- Iraq’s oil output drops nearly 60% amid US-Iran war
Iraq’s oil production has dropped by nearly 60% as the US-Israeli war on Iran entered its ninth day, according to an Iraqi official.
Production currently stands at about 1.3 million barrels per day, down from around 3.3 million barrels before the outbreak of the war, Kazem Abdul Hassan Karim, assistant director general at the Department of Fields and Licensing Affairs in the Iraqi Oil Ministry, said in a statement.
Iraq announced earlier that it had reduced crude oil output after cutting exports due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
