What we know about Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran\u2019s new supreme leader who is \u2018hated by the enemy\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n![\"Demonstrators](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/MTLCIKN63Y565FLDOVV7AX5JEA.jpg\")
Demonstrators hold posters of Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran. Photograph: Vahid Salemi, AP <\/p>\n
Hugh Dooley – 28 minutes ago<\/p>\n
Iranian supreme leader \u2018in good health\u2019 says foreign minister<\/p>\n
Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is \u201cin good health and is fully managing the situation\u201d according to the state\u2019s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Telegram following a phone interview to a news station, Araghchi countered claims by US president Donald Trump that the new leader of Iran had been killed.<\/p>\n
Trump said on Satuday; \u201cI\u2019m hearing he [Khamenei] is not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that\u2019s surrender.\u201d<\/p>\n
More to follow from the interview…<\/p>\n
Hugh Dooley – 53 minutes ago<\/p>\n
UK considering sending minesweepers to the Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n
The UK is \u201cintensively\u201d looking at what it can do to help reopen a key oil shipping route in the Middle East, which has been blocked by Iran and has led to energy price spikes, Ed Miliband said.<\/p>\n
The UK energy secretary was asked on Sky News\u2019s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips whether Britain was looking at sending minesweepers or minehunting drones to the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are talking to our allies,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s different ways in which we can make maritime shipping possible. We are intensively looking with our allies at what can be done, because it\u2019s so important that we get the strait reopened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miliband had earlier said there are \u201ca range of things that we can do, including autonomous minehunting equipment\u201d, but refused to speculate on how far along these proposals were.<\/p>\n
He also refused to be drawn into suggestions that Britain did not have a large enough military to meet all its commitments, as well as respond to the crisis.<\/p>\n
He told Sky News: \u201cOf course it\u2019s the case that there are significant demands in this unstable world on our armed forces. I think our armed forces are actually doing a fantastic job in responding to those demands, and as I say, it is this Government that is investing in our armed forces.\u201d – PA<\/p>\n
Iran vows to \u2018pursue and kill\u2019 Binyamin Netanyahu \u2018with force\u2019 – report<\/p>\n
Reports in Iran from news agency Mehr quote the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) as having vowed to kill the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
The IRGC was quoted as saying they \u201cwill continue to pursue and kill him with force\u201d. The IRGC is a major military, political and economic force in Iran, loyal to the country\u2019s supreme leader. – Guardian<\/p>\n
Zelenskiy says Ukraine wants money, technology in return for Middle East drone help<\/p>\n
Ukraine wants money and technology in return for helping Middle Eastern nations \u200bdefend against Iranian kamikaze drones, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, after Kyiv sent specialists to four countries in the region.<\/p>\n
Zelenskiy told reporters in comments cleared for release on Sunday that each \u200bof the three teams sent to the Middle East consisted of dozens of people, who \u2060will conduct expert assessments and demonstrate how drone defences should operate.<\/p>\n
Gulf states \u200chave \u200cexpended \u200blarge quantities of air-defence missiles to counter Iran\u2019s attack drones and have sought Ukraine\u2019s expertise in downing them.<\/p>\n
Kyiv \u2060downs Russian drones every night \u200busing an array of weaponry including \u200bcheaper, smaller drones or jamming equipment. – Reuters<\/p>\n
Key UAE port outside Strait of Hormuz resumes oil operations after drone strike<\/p>\n
Oil-loading operations at a key port in the United Arab Emirates resumed on Sunday after a drone strike and fire forced a halt to exports.<\/p>\n
A drone was intercepted Saturday and falling debris caused the fire, Fujairah\u2019s media office said. However, operations at Fujairah, which sits outside the Strait of Hormuz, have restarted, according to sources.<\/p>\n
Fujairah sits at the end of a pipeline allowing the UAE to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, the key transit point that has been all-but-closed because of the war between the US, Israel and Iran. <\/p>\n
Positioned between the Gulf of Oman and Hajar Mountains, Fujairah is the main export terminal for the UAE\u2019s Murban crude, piped from Abu Dhabi\u2019s production areas.<\/p>\n
In addition to Adnoc\u2019s crude-storage facility, the port has capacity for more than 70 million barrels of oil and fuels for traders needing rapid supply access, while the port also serves as a ship refueling hub. – Bloomerg<\/p>\n
![\"Plumes](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TNV3WYDSXABEXE5WV3QZ2JWYSM.jpg\")
Plumes of smoke and fire rise after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone struck an oil facility, according to authorities, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (Altaf Qadri\/AP) Formula One races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia confirmed cancelled by FIA<\/p>\n
The F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de l\u2019Automobile (FIA) has confirmed previous reports of the cancellation of two grands prix set to take place in the Middle East next month. <\/p>\n
The international motor racing federation, which acts as the rules bod behind Formula One (F1), said the decision came \u201cafter careful evaluations\u201d and was made \u201cdue to the ongoing situation in the Middle East region\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile several alternatives were considered, it was ultimately decided that no substitutions will be made in April.\u201d<\/p>\n
F1\u2019s chief executive Stefano Domenicali said the decision was made with the \u201csafety and well being of our community and colleagues first\u201d.<\/p>\n
The circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, is just 32km from a US base previously struck by missiles.<\/p>\n
Trump threatens further Kharg Island strikes \u2018just for fun\u2019 <\/p>\n
Trump said on Saturday that the US may carry out more strikes on Iran\u2019s vital Kharg Island oil export hub \u201cjust for fun\u201d, rejecting the prospect of a swift peace deal with Tehran.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe terms aren\u2019t good enough yet,\u201d the US president told NBC News. The Iranian regime wants to make an agreement, he claimed.<\/p>\n
After days of conflicting messaging from the White House on how much longer it will continue to wage war on Iran, Trump alleged US strikes had \u201ctotally demolished\u201d most of Kharg Island, and told the network that its military may hit the site \u201ca few more times just for fun\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve totally decimated it,\u201d he said. \u201cExcept, as you know, I didn\u2019t do anything having to do with the energy lines, because having to rebuild that would take years.\u201d \u2013 Guardian<\/p>\n
Three more members of Iranian soccer team to leave Australia<\/p>\n
Three members of the Iranian women\u2019s soccer team who had sought \u200casylum in Australia have decided to return to Iran, Australia\u2019s government said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Australia \u200bgranted humanitarian visas to seven Iranian footballers last week after they sought asylum, saying they feared persecution if they returned home after they failed to sing \u200bthe national anthem at a Women\u2019s Asian Cup match.<\/p>\n
Four of the seven \u2060members have decided to leave Australia so far. Another member \u200cchanged \u200cher \u200bmind last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter telling Australian officials they had made this decision, the players were given \u2060repeated chances to talk \u200babout their options,\u201d Australian home affairs \u200bminister Tony Burke said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the Australian government \u200ccan ensure that opportunities are provided \u200band communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players \u2060are making these incredibly difficult \u2060decisions,\u201d \u200bhe added.<\/p>\n
The Iranian Football Association (FFIRI) named the players as Mona Hamoudi, Zahra Sarbali and Zahra Meshkehkar.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter arriving in Malaysia and joining the rest of Iran\u2019s women\u2019s national football team, the three players will travel to Tehran in the coming days to once again be embraced by \u200ctheir families and homeland,\u201d \u2060FFIRI added in a statement.<\/p>\n
The Iranian team\u2019s campaign in the Asian Cup started just as the US \u200cand Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic\u2019s Supreme Leader \u200bAyatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the \u200btournament last Sunday. \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n
The Pentagon on Saturday identified the six US service members who died this past week when a refuelling aircraft crashed in Iraq.<\/p>\n
The service members were Maj John A Klinner (33), of Auburn, Alabama; Capt Ariana G Savino (31), of Covington, Washington; Tech Sgt Ashley B Pruitt (34), of Bardstown, Kentucky; Capt Seth R Koval (38) of Mooresville, Indiana; Capt Curtis J Angst (30), of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tech Sgt Tyler H Simmons (28), of Columbus, Ohio.<\/p>\n
US Central Command stated that the aircraft crashed after an incident involving another plane, which landed safely. The crash, which happened on Thursday in western Iraq, was not a result of hostile or friendly fire, the Central Command said.<\/p>\n
The plane that went down was a KC-135, which is used by the Air Force to refuel a wide range of aircraft while in flight. A US official previously said the other plane involved was also a KC-135.<\/p>\n
Three of the service members \u2013 Klinner, Savino and Pruitt \u2013 were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base. \u2013 New York Times<\/p>\n
US citizens should \u200cleave Iraq immediately, the US \u200bembassy in Baghdad said in \u200ban updated security \u2060alert on Saturday, \u200cfollowing \u200can \u200bovernight missile attack \u2060on \u200bthe embassy\u2019s \u200bbuilding.<\/p>\n
\u201cUS citizens \u200cchoosing to remain \u200bin Iraq \u2060are \u2060strongly encouraged \u200bto reconsider in light of the significant threat posed \u200cby Iran-aligned \u2060terrorist militia groups,\u201d the \u200cembassy said \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Main PointsKey Reads Hugh Dooley – 1 minute ago Refrain from escalating Middle East conflict, Iran tells France…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[969,42,11829,3410,150432,14396,43,40,38,41,39,90],"class_list":["post-347329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-israel-iran-conflict","tag-lebanon","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}