News blog about the war in the Middle East
Israel reports rocket attack on Iran headquarters
Updated March 8, 2026 – 11:17 p.mReading time: 22 min.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s successor has been chosen. A seventh US soldier has died. All developments in the news blog.
The Israeli army says it has destroyed the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard Air Force in the Iranian capital Tehran. From there, the Iranian attacks with missiles and drones on Israel and other countries in the region were organized and controlled, said army spokesman Effie Defrin at an online press conference. The information could not initially be independently verified and Iranian authorities did not comment.
Since the Israeli-American attacks on Iran began on February 28, Iran says it has fired at least 500 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and more than 2,000 combat drones, primarily at Israel. But the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Turkey also reported numerous attacks by Iran.
In Iran, Moschtaba Khamenei has been appointed the new spiritual leader of the Islamic Republic. Moschtaba is a son of the previous leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US and Israeli attacks on Iran around a week ago.
The decision for Modshtaba was announced on state television on Sunday evening. The Iranian people were called to unity and loyalty to the new spiritual leader.
The US has reported the death of a seventh US military member in the Iran war. The member of the armed forces died on Saturday in Saudi Arabia from injuries he sustained at the start of the attacks “by the Iranian regime in the Middle East,” said Centcom, the US military command responsible for the region, on Sunday. Six more US soldiers were killed in a drone attack in Kuwait on Sunday last week.
A member of Iran’s panel of experts says they have chosen a candidate to become the Islamic Republic’s new spiritual leader. The name “Khamenei” will remain the same, says Hosseinali Eshkevari, without naming the candidate exactly. Observers had previously said the most likely candidate was Modshtaba Khamenei. He is the son of the previous spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed about a week ago in attacks by the USA and Israel on Iran.