Israel hits Iran’s oil depots as clerics say consensus reached on Ayatollah successor : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4b%2F1a%2Fbd8812c648099e0e2fb59b0e698f%2Fap26067343102389.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4b%2F1a%2Fbd8812c648099e0e2fb59b0e698f%2Fap26067343102389.jpg" class="img" alt="Flames rise from an oil storage facility south of the capital Tehran as strikes hit the city during the U.S.–Israel military campaign, Iran, Saturday, March 7, 2026." fetchpriority="high"/> Flames rise from an oil storage facility south of the capital Tehran as strikes hit the town throughout the U.S.–Israel army marketing campaign, Iran, Saturday, March 7, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP disguise caption

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Vahid Salemi/AP Israel focused Iran's oil services for the primary time early Sunday, with movies displaying big flames lighting up the sky, whereas Tehran responded to assaults on its infrastructure by concentrating on that of its regional neighbors, hitting a desalination plant in Bahrain.

In the meantime, Iranian state media reported officers have been near asserting a successor for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Israeli strikes at first of the battle. The Israeli Protection Drive vowed it will "pursue each successor and each one who seeks to nominate a successor."

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have each pledged to proceed hitting Iran exhausting.

This is what to know because the more and more regional battle enters its ninth day:

Iran and Israel launch assaults on essential infrastructure This seems to be the primary time Israel has focused a civilian oil facility in Iran. An Iranian information company reported at the least 4 tanker drivers have been killed.

The Israeli army says Iran made frequent use of that oil storage facility in Tehran to function army infrastructure. Individually, Iran's overseas minister mentioned a U.S. airstrike broken an Iranian desalination plant for the primary time.

Additionally for the primary time within the Gulf – a desalination plant in Bahrain was broken in an Iranian drone assault.

These assaults on vitality and water infrastructure are a big escalation within the battle. The area is determined by desalinated sea water for consuming water. And far of the world depends on oil from the Gulf.

Iranian clerics say they've chosen a brand new – unnamed – supreme chief Iran's Meeting of Consultants is the group of clerics tasked with appointing a successor. A member of the group says they have been engaged on approving the brand new chief and a majority consensus has been reached.

He did not say what that consensus was.

Israel's army tweeted a warning in Farsi, saying Iran was attempting to rebuild itself and choose a brand new chief and that the Meeting of Consultants would quickly collect within the metropolis of Qom.

The army mentioned Israel would pursue any successor to Khamenei and goal these collaborating within the choice course of.

Netanyahu mentioned in a press convention he seeks to "destabilize the regime and allow change."

Bombing marketing campaign towards Hezbollah in Lebanon continues The Israeli army focused a resort in central Beirut Sunday, killing at the least 4 folks, in keeping with Lebanese well being officers. The resort assault is the primary time the guts of the capital has been struck because the battle with Iran started.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7e%2Fe4%2Fd25c4c97431fabdc3a7bb8020ad0%2Fap26067405431501.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7e%2Fe4%2Fd25c4c97431fabdc3a7bb8020ad0%2Fap26067405431501.jpg" class="img" alt="A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a U.S.-Israeli strike late Saturday in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 8, 2026." loading="lazy"/> A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a U.S.-Israeli strike late Saturday in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 8, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP disguise caption

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Vahid Salemi/AP The strike is a part of Israel's intensified bombing marketing campaign in Lebanon towards the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Practically 300 folks have been killed and tens of hundreds displaced, in keeping with the Lebanese authorities.

A video shared on-line confirmed black smoke billowing from the window of a resort room within the Ramada Plaza in central Beirut.

The Israeli army additionally mentioned it killed 5 Iranian commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard based mostly in Lebanon.

It mentioned in an announcement that it will "not enable Iranian terrorist parts to determine themselves in Lebanese territory."

Israeli strikes have been primarily centered on south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, that are thought of Hezbollah strongholds.

Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed political and army group in Lebanon that has been designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union.

Inns just like the Ramada in Beirut are stuffed with displaced households fleeing the Israeli bombing within the south.

Trump slams Britain and China urges restraint Trump attacked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Fact Social after experiences that the U.Okay. has readied two plane carriers, probably for deployment to the Center East.

"That is OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we do not want them any longer — However we are going to keep in mind. We do not want people who be part of Wars after we have already gained!" the U.S. chief mentioned.

Britain has not joined offensive operations towards Iran. After initially refusing permission to the U.S. to be used of British bases to assault Iran, Starmer later authorized "defensive" U.S. motion towards Iranian missile websites from bases in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia within the Indian Ocean.

In the meantime, China's overseas minister Wang Yi mentioned armed battle within the Center East will solely breed hatred, and known as for a ceasefire.

"Would possibly doesn't make proper" he mentioned, including, "the regulation of the jungle should not return and rule the world."

China has supplied to mediate within the battle, however is extra intently aligned with Iran than with both the U.S. or Israel.

That has raised questions over whether or not Trump will nonetheless meet Chinese language chief Xi Jinping in a couple of weeks.

Assaults Intensify in Iraq's Kurdistan area Assaults by Iran and its paramilitary proxies have intensified in Iraq and the nation's Kurdistan area. A missile strike on the U.S. base on the regional capital Erbil's worldwide airport killed a Kurdish safety member, whereas rockets hit the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Saturday.

Iran and the Iraqi militias it backs hit a resort utilized by the United Nations within the metropolis of Suleimaniyah, in addition to a brigade of Kurdish fighters and an Iranian opposition base close to the Kurdistan area's second metropolis.

Komala, an Iranian-armed opposition group, mentioned its base close to Sulaymaniyah was hit by a missile Saturday, killing one among its fighters and wounding one other.

The Iraqi authorities pledged to arrest militia members it blamed for the rocket assaults on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Safety sources mentioned one of many rockets hit the embassy's helicopter touchdown pad.

NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Beirut, Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg, Jane Arraf in Erbil, and Jennifer Pak in Beijing contributed reporting.