In a significant development, Iran has declared the selection of a new supreme leader amidst the backdrop of dense, acrid smoke enveloping Tehran. This follows recent US-Israeli airstrikes targeting fuel depots.
The country’s clerical council, responsible for appointing a successor to the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—who perished in the strikes that ignited the current Middle Eastern conflict—has made their choice, although the new leader’s name remains undisclosed.
According to Iran’s Mehr news agency, Assembly of Experts member Ahmad Alamolhoda stated, “The vote to appoint the leader has taken place and the leader has been chosen.”
Alamolhoda mentioned that the official announcement would be made by the body’s secretariat. Other members of the assembly confirmed the decision, with one hinting that the late leader’s son might assume the role.
On another front, Israel has issued a stern warning, indicating its willingness to target the newly appointed leader and the Assembly of Experts responsible for his confirmation.
Israel’s extensive reach was highlighted by two recent operations: one involved strikes on fuel depots in Tehran and its surroundings, while another targeted a hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, aiming at suspected Iranian commanders.
As the war extended into its ninth day, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had enough supplies to continue their aerial drone and missile war over the Middle East for up to six months.
US President Donald Trump again refused to rule out sending American ground troops into Iran, but continued to insist that the war was all but won despite the ongoing Iranian missile and drone strikes.
A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike late Saturday in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 8, 2026
Rubble of destroyed buildings is seen at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighbourhood in the southern Lebanese village of Sir el Gharbiyeh on March 8, 2026
Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said Iran had so far used only first- and second-generation missiles, but would use ‘advanced and less-used long-range missiles’ in the coming days.
Saudi Arabia intercepted a wave of drones headed for targets including the diplomatic quarter in its capital Riyadh, Kuwait said an attack hit fuel tanks at its international airport and Bahrain reported a water desalination plant had been damaged.
Warplanes hit five oil facilities in overnight strikes in and around the Iranian capital, killing four people, the CEO of the national oil products distribution firm told state television.
Tehran’s governor told the IRNA news agency that fuel distribution had been ‘temporarily interrupted’ in the capital while repairs were carried out.
A dark haze hung over the city as morning broke and a smell of burning lingered in the air.
The Israeli army confirmed that its air force had struck ‘fuel storage facilities in Tehran’ to prevent their use by the Iranian military.
Tehran has vowed to go after US assets in the region, and Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait all reported new attacks on Sunday.
Inside Iran, damage to infrastructure and residential areas is mounting as its people report growing anxiety and a heavy security presence.
‘I don’t think anyone who hasn’t experienced war would understand it,’ a 26-year-old teacher told AFP on condition of anonymity, describing the fear of living under bombardment.
Iran’s health ministry said Sunday that at least 1,200 civilians had been killed and around 10,000 wounded – figures AFP could not independently verify.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 294 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes over the past week, prompting Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to warn of a looming ‘humanitarian disaster’.
Trump, meanwhile, attended the return of the bodies of six American service members killed in a drone strike on a US base in Kuwait last Sunday.
Explosions erupt following strikes at Shahran Oil Refinery in Tehran on March 7, 2026
Analysts warn there is still no clear path to ending a conflict that US and Israeli officials say could last a month or longer.
Trump has suggested Iran’s economy could be rebuilt if a leader ‘acceptable’ to Washington replaces the late supreme leader, which Tehran has rejected.
China and Russia have largely stayed on the sidelines despite close ties with Tehran.
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Sunday that the war in the Middle East should ‘never have happened’, telling a press conference in Beijing that ‘a strong fist does not mean strong reason. The world cannot return to the law of the jungle.’
