Iran live updates: White House calls on other nations to secure Strait of Hormuz

Dubai officials earlier said a drone impact had started a fire near the airport.

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Last updated: Monday, March 16, 2026 6:10PM GMT
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President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.

Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen on Sunday to succeed him.

Iran is responding to the operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

Smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.
Smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.

ByChris Looft ABCNews logo
Mar 09, 2026, 7:14 PM GMT

US missile seen near Iranian girls' school

A newly surfaced video appears to show a U.S.-made missile hitting a building in Iran adjacent to a girls' school where local officials say 168 people were killed, experts told ABC News.

A newly surfaced video appears to show a U.S.-made missile hitting a building in Iran adjacent to a girls' school where local officials say 168 people were killed.

The eyewitness video was first posted Sunday morning by the Iranian outlet Mehr News, and then shared online by Trevor Ball, a former U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician, who now works as a researcher with the investigative group Bellingcat.

Ball said in a post on X that the video showed a U.S.-made Tomahawk missile.

Full story here.

ByNicholas Kerr ABCNews logo
Mar 09, 2026, 5:52 PM GMT

Trump says he's 'nowhere near' decision on ground operation in Iran

President Donald Trump told the New York Post on Monday that he was "nowhere near" a decision on potential ground operations in Iran.

"We haven't made any decision on that. We're nowhere near it," Trump said.

Trump also reiterated to the Post that he was "not happy" with the newly selected Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei.

Asked what his plans were for Iran's new leader, Trump told the Post, "Not going to tell you. I'm not happy with him," he said.

Trump also waived off concerns about spiking oil prices.

"I have a plan for everything, okay?" Trump said in the interview.

"I have a plan for everything. You'll be very happy," he said.

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Mar 09, 2026, 5:03 PM GMT

France preparing 'defensive' 'escort mission' for Strait of Hormuz

French President Emmanuel Macron said he's working with partners to prepare a "purely defensive" mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by escorting ships, once the "most intense phase of the conflict" in the Middle East has passed.

France is deploying eight warships, two amphibious helicopter carriers and the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean, the Red Sea and off the coast of Hormuz.

Macron said a coalition of partners -- coordinated by and headquartered in Greece -- had already been formed.

"We are in the process of setting up ...a purely defensive, purely escort mission, which must be prepared together with both European and non-European states, and whose purpose is to enable, as soon as possible after the most intense phase of the conflict has ended, the escort of container ships and tankers to gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is essential to international trade, but also to the circulation of gas and oil which must be able to be transported out of this region again," Macron said.

-ABC News' Tom Soufi Burridge

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Mar 09, 2026, 5:03 PM GMT

Rubio: World will be 'safer and a better place when this mission is accomplished'

At an event honoring wrongful detainees and hostages, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that Iran's retaliation laid bare the threat it poses to countries near and far.

"They are trying to hold the world hostage. They are attacking their neighbors. They are attacking neighboring countries, their energy infrastructure, their civilian population, they're attacking embassies," he said. "This is a terrorist government. This is a terroristic regime."

He also offered a moment of silence for the seven killed Americans.

"We all are all in awe of their service, of their bravery, of their courage, and our hearts and our support extend out to their families in this very difficult moment, and the families of these incredible heroes," he said.

-ABC News' Shannon Kingston