{"id":329911,"date":"2026-03-09T13:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/329911\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T13:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:51:15","slug":"saudi-arabia-tells-iran-it-will-be-the-biggest-loser-as-drone-strikes-spray-arab-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/329911\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia tells Iran it will be ‘the biggest loser’ as drone strikes spray Arab states"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iranian state TV early Monday said Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country\u2019s late supreme leader,\u00a0has been named his successor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He had long been considered a contender, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard answers to the supreme leader, and the younger Khamenei will have the central say in war strategy.<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump told ABC News earlier Sunday he wants a say in who comes to power once the war is over; a new leader \u201cis not going to last long\u201d without his approval, he said.<\/p>\n

Here is the latest:<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia sharpens warnings to Iran<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia sharpened its warnings to Iran early Monday, telling Tehran it would be the \u201cbiggest loser\u201d if it continues to attack Arab states.<\/p>\n

The Saudi statement came after a new drone attack apparently targeted its massive Shaybah oil field.<\/p>\n

The kingdom dismissed comments by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday that Iran had halted its attacks on Gulf Arab states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kingdom affirms that the Iranian side has not implemented this statement in practice, neither during the Iranian president\u2019s speech nor afterward,\u201d Saudi Arabia\u2019s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran has continued its aggression based on flimsy pretexts devoid of any factual basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

It added the Iranian attacks mean \u201cfurther escalation which will have grave impact on the relations, currently and in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump says oil prices will \u2018drop rapidly\u2019 once Iran conflict ends<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump offered assurance to consumers as oil prices eclipsed $100 per barrel for the first time in more than three and a half years Sunday, with the\u00a0Iran war<\/a>\u00a0hindering production and shipping in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cShort term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,\u201d Trump said in a social media post. \u201cONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia says two dead in Kharj attack are Bangladeshi nationals<\/p>\n

Saudi authorities said the two people killed in an attack Sunday in a central city were from Bangladesh.<\/p>\n

The Civil Defense said in a statement that 11 other Bangladeshi people were injured along with an Indian national.<\/p>\n

An earlier statement from the Saudi agency incorrectly stated the dead included an Indian national.<\/p>\n

The attack occurred in Kharj on Sunday when a military projectile fell on the residential building of a maintenance and cleaning firm, it said.<\/p>\n

Four more drones attacking vast Saudi oil field destroyed<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia\u2019s Defense Ministry said forces destroyed Monday morning four more drones that were attacking the vast Shaybah oil field.<\/p>\n

Bahrain says 32 people including children injured in Iranian drone attack<\/p>\n

An Iranian drone attack hit a residential area in Bahrain and wounded 32 Bahraini civilians, including children as young as two years old, authorities said.<\/p>\n

The attacks occurred in Sitra Island close to energy infrastructure, the National Communication Center said.<\/p>\n

Four of the wounded are in critical condition, including two boys aged 7 and 8 who suffered serious leg injuries and were undergoing surgeries, it said.<\/p>\n

US State Department issues order for non-emergency staff and families to leave Saudi Arabia<\/p>\n

The expected order was formally issued on the same day the U.S. military announced an American service member has died of injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on the kingdom.<\/p>\n

The service member died on Saturday from injuries sustained during a March 1 Iranian attack on the kingdom.<\/p>\n

The kingdom\u2019s Civil Defense also confirmed Sunday that a military projectile that fell onto a residential area killed two foreign-born residents and wounded 12 others in Al-Kharj governorate.<\/p>\n

The Civil Defense spokesperson said in a statement that the two killed were of Indian and Bangladeshi nationality, and all wounded are Bangladeshi residents.<\/p>\n

They are the first casualties to be reported by Saudi Arabia since the war began on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n

Drone intercepted near US-linked base in Baghdad<\/p>\n

Iraqi air defenses shot down a drone early Monday as it approached Victoria Base, a U.S.-operated military compound inside Baghdad International Airport, a security source told the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.<\/p>\n

There were no reported injuries or damage.<\/p>\n

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.<\/p>\n

Pro-Iranian Iraqi militias, such as Saraya Awliya al-Dam, have previously targeted the base.<\/p>\n

By Qassem Abdul-Zahra<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military warns of Iranian missile launch<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military warned of an Iranian missile launch early Monday morning.<\/p>\n

It also said it targeted Hezbollah in airstrikes on Beirut and began airstrikes targeting central Iran early Monday.<\/p>\n

Qatar arrests more than 300 people over \u2018misleading information\u2019<\/p>\n

Qatar said more than 300 people from different nationalities have been arrested over allegations of inciting public concern amid the war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

The Interior Ministry said they were detained for \u201cfilming, circulating, and publishing misleading information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attacks in Gulf countries<\/p>\n

Qatar\u2019s Defense Ministry reported a missile attack on the country early Monday.<\/p>\n

In Saudi Arabia, the Defense Ministry said forces early Monday destroyed two drones that were targeting its vast Shaybah oil field.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, fire broke out at an oil facility in the United Arab Emirates early Monday following an attack in Fujairah, one of the UAE\u2019s seven emirates, authorities said.<\/p>\n

The fire in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone was extinguished, they said.<\/p>\n

Woman injured after Iranian missiles launched toward Israel<\/p>\n

One woman was injured by flying debris in Rishon LeZion city in central Israel and is in moderate condition, the country\u2019s emergency service, Magen David Adom, said early Monday, following the launch of Iranian missiles toward Israel.<\/p>\n

The service added that it provided the woman with medical treatment at the scene. A video circulating on social media showed a car with shattered glass and debris scattered across the road.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard pledges allegiance to the new Supreme Leader in a statement<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard announced its allegiance to the new Supreme Leader in a statement early Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Guard as a powerful soldier and arm of the Supreme Leader is ready to follow the orders of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei while supporting the selection by the assembly,\u201d said the Guard in a statement broadcast by state media outlets.<\/p>\n

The Guard is in charge of missiles operation in the war against the U.S. and Israel.<\/p>\n

Trump has called new Iranian supreme leader \u2018a lightweight\u2019<\/p>\n

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran\u2019s supreme leader, but Trump has previously stated he has a dim view of Mojtaba Khamenei.<\/p>\n

Trump has derided the 56-year-old who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as \u201ca lightweight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,\u201d Trump said in an interview with Axios last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,\u201d Trump said, referring to the acting president in the South American country.\u00a0Delcy Rodr\u00edguez<\/a>\u00a0took power in January after a U.S. military operation captured Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and whisked him to the U.S. to face federal drug conspiracy charges.<\/p>\n

Trump earlier on Sunday repeated that he expects to have a say in picking Iran\u2019s next leader, warning that a new leader \u201cis not going to last long\u201d if the person doesn\u2019t have his approval.<\/p>\n

Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran\u2019s late supreme leader, has been named his successor<\/p>\n

Iranian state TV early Monday said Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country\u2019s late supreme leader, has been named his successor.<\/p>\n

He had long been considered a contender, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard answers to the supreme leader, and now the younger Khamenei will have the central say in war strategy.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia intercepts at least 3 drones and a missile<\/p>\n

The Kingdom\u2019s Defense Ministry said Sunday night it had intercepted a missile headed toward Prince Sultan Air Base, and two drones in northern Riyadh city<\/p>\n

In an earlier post on X<\/a>, it said it intercepted a drone over the Empty Quarter desert while heading toward the Shaybah oil field.<\/p>\n

A separate post had the same details for the latter drone, but it was unclear if that was a different event.<\/p>\n

The ministry also shared footage it said showed Saudi air defenses intercepting and destroying \u201ca number of drones\u201d launched at it in recent days<\/p>\n

7th American killed in Iran operations, military confirms<\/p>\n

The U.S. military announced an American service member has died of injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on troops stationed in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

The seventh American service member killed in the Iran war was an Army soldier, a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

The service member died on Saturday from injuries sustained during a March 1 Iranian attack on the kingdom<\/p>\n

The American death toll since the start of combat operations now stands at seven. Six Army reservists were also killed in the March 1 attack on Kuwait.<\/p>\n

All seven casualties from the war in Iran were Army soldiers. The first six deaths were Army reservists killed in a March 1 attack on a command center in a Kuwaiti port.<\/p>\n

By Konstantin Toropin<\/p>\n

Israel says it destroyed headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard air force<\/p>\n

The military said in a statement that the headquarters struck in Tehran operated \u201cthe ballistic missile command, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) array, and other air force units.\u201d The army\u2019s spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said the headquarters were \u201cdestroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel has pounded Iran with widespread airstrikes for days, hitting more than 140 targets on Sunday alone, according to Defrin. (edited)<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s army chief tells Israeli public to prepare for war to take \u2018a long time\u2019<\/p>\n

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke at an assessment held with the Home Front Command chief and other military officials, in comments provided by the army.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael has already been in a state of prolonged emergency for two years,\u201d Zamir said. \u201cWhat we mainly need right now is perseverance and patience. It will take a long time yet, you need to be prepared for that, and however long it takes, it will take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel confirms it struck hotel in central Beirut, says 5 Iran-linked commanders killed<\/p>\n

The military said the overnight strike by its navy killed five top commanders in Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps while they were \u201chiding in a civilian hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n

It said they served in the Guard\u2019s Quds Force\u2019s Lebanon and Palestine corps and were involved in funding, arming and providing intelligence to Hezbollah and Hamas.<\/p>\n

The Quds Force works heavily with Iran\u2019s allied militant groups in the region.<\/p>\n

Last week the Israeli military said it killed the acting commander of the Quds Force\u2019s Lebanon Corps in an airstrike in Tehran.<\/p>\n

Macron urges Iran to halt strikes in phone call with the country\u2019s president<\/p>\n

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday and urged him to stop the strikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stressed the need for Iran to immediately cease its strikes against countries in the region,\u201d Macron said on X.<\/p>\n

He also called on Iran to guarantee freedom of navigation by \u201cputting an end to the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macron also mentioned the case of C\u00e9cile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French nationals who were released from an Iranian prison in November and transferred to the French Embassy in Tehran, after more than three years in detention on spying charges. He called for their return to France as an \u201cabsolute priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macron also stressed deep concern regarding the development of Iran\u2019s nuclear and ballistic program and said a diplomatic solution is necessary.<\/p>\n

Both leaders agreed to remain in contact, according to Macron\u2019s post on X.<\/p>\n

Macron is the first Western leader to talk to Iran\u2019s president since the beginning of the war.<\/p>\n

Macron speaks with Iranian president<\/p>\n

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone Sunday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. He also had separate talks with President Donald Trump, Macron\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

No other details provided.<\/p>\n

Lebanon says over a half-million people have been displaced in the week of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah<\/p>\n

Lebanon says over a half-million people have been displaced in the week of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.<\/p>\n

The actual number is likely higher. Lebanon\u2019s count of 517,000 refers to those who registered on the government\u2019s online portal. The cash-strapped government has struggled to accommodate the large number of people who have fled their homes in large parts of southern and eastern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Israel over the past week has called on residents in dozens of villages across southern Lebanon and the entirety of Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs to evacuate as the fighting intensifies.<\/p>\n

Six Palestinians have been killed this week in interactions with Israeli settlers<\/p>\n

Palestinian mourners marched down the main street of the West Bank village of Khirbet Abu Falah Sunday, hoisting high the coffins of three men killed in an interaction with settlers.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, Israeli settlers had attacked Palestinians near the village, which is east of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied territory, the military said. Two Palestinians were killed by gunfire and a third died from suffocation, likely due to tear gas, the military said.<\/p>\n

The deaths bring the total number of settler-related killings of Palestinians in the West Bank to six this week, and seven in the roughly nine weeks since the start of 2026.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a major spike. In all of 2025, the UN human rights office reported nine Palestinians killed by settlers.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka plans to issue free visas for evacuated Iranian sailors<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka will issue a monthlong visa for the Iranian sailors evacuated outside its waters after a U.S submarine attack sunk another ship in the same area, killing more than 80 sailors.<\/p>\n

Public Security Minister Anada Wijepala told the media on Sunday that the government will issue \u201ca free visa\u201d for the Iranian sailors, adding that \u201cit will take sometime for them(sailors) to leave this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday, 204 sailors were transferred to a Sri Lankan naval base from their ship \u201cIRIS Bushehr\u201d which was taken under Sri Lankan custody.<\/p>\n

The ship had sought help from Sri Lanka reporting an engine failure. The appeal followed the sinking of the Iranian warship \u201cIRIS Dena by the U.S. torpedo attack, off Sri Lanka\u2019s coast on Wednesday. The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies.<\/p>\n

The strike marked one of the rare instances since World War II in which a submarine sank a surface warship.<\/p>\n

Tensions on Israel\u2019s northern border as military beefs up presence to counter Hezbollah<\/p>\n

Israelis along the northern border with Lebanon Sunday watched and worried as the area grew increasingly militarized during yet another round of fighting with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.<\/p>\n

Military jeeps and trucks with tanks on them could be seen on roads close to the border.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that our army today will bring order regarding Hezbollah and eliminate them permanently so we can live here in peace,\u201d said Morris Yakuti, a poultry farmer from the area.<\/p>\n

Others weren\u2019t so sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I have enough experience in this area all my life, I think it\u2019s just another circle of war and it will not end this war, so it will happen again and again,\u201d said Harella Matalon Aizenshtadt.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s renewed offensive began last week after Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel during the war\u2019s opening days.<\/p>\n

The subsequent strikes have been the most intense since a November 2024 ceasefire.<\/p>\n

The first day of the Iran war was the deadliest, an independent monitoring group says<\/p>\n

Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, the U.S-based group known\u00a0as ACLED<\/a>, said over 43% of the fatalities were documented that day, Feb. 28, in 10 countries. ACLED has documented over 1,000 incidents in the first week of the war across 16 countries.<\/p>\n

The deadliest single strike during the first week was on Feb. 28 on a\u00a0girl\u2019s school<\/a>\u00a0near a Revolutionary Guards base in Minab in southern Iran, that killed 168 civilians.<\/p>\n

That was followed by another strike on a playground in Shiraz, in central Iran, on March 5, that killed 20 people. Another strike on a residential area in Lamerd, in Fars province, killed 19 on the first day of the war, ACLED said.<\/p>\n

Although ACLED recorded fewer strikes on civilian sites in Iran, they caused more causalities, it said. Over 57% of civilian casualties in Iran resulted from 3.4% of the recorded strikes by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n

Sirens spread to central Israel in successive barrages from Iran<\/p>\n

Moments after residents of southern Israel were warned of incoming ballistic missiles from Iran, sirens sent millions more Israelis in the Tel Aviv metro area and parts of the West Bank into shelters as the army said it had detected another missile attack.<\/p>\n

Analyst says separatism will strengthen Iranian government<\/p>\n

However disdainful of their government in Tehran, most Iranians are wary of Trump\u2019s courting of Iranian Kurdish groups, said Alex Vatanka, a fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

Iranians see the U.S. president\u2019s calls to the Kurds and posts on social media as signals that Trump desires not the liberation but rather than the fragmentation of Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Iranians are by and large hearing is not regime change in Tehran, not this glorious move to a secular democracy and so forth, but basically the dismantling of Iran,\u201d Vatanka said. Talk of separatism, from the Kurds and other minority groups like Baluchis, Ahwazi Arabs and Azeris \u201cis going to undermine that bigger effort aimed at the regime and it will demoralize the opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vatanka said that territorial losses in Iranian Kurdish areas or perhaps\u00a0three Iranian islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates<\/a>\u00a0would rally Iranians around the flag if not the authorities against foreign interference.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia reports its first deaths in the war with 2 killed<\/p>\n

The Kingdom\u2019s Civil Defense said Sunday evening that a military projectile that fell onto a residential area killed two foreign-born residents and wounded 12 others in Al-Kharj governorate.<\/p>\n

The Civil Defense spokesperson said in a statement that the two killed were of Indian and Bangladeshi nationality, and all wounded are Bangladeshi residents.<\/p>\n

These are the first casualties to be reported by Saudi Arabia since the war began a week ago.<\/p>\n

Analyst says defections final key signal to instability in Iran<\/p>\n

Three key signals might signal fatal cracks in the Iranian government, said Farzan Sabet, researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute.<\/p>\n

Popular<\/a> uprisings, foreign intervention, and defections from the political and military elites are key signals of big changes in Iranian history, he said. Foreign intervention is clear in the smoke and flames across Tehran from Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, he said, and the latest protest movement in 2026.<\/p>\n

But we have yet to see defections that might precipitate change, Sabet said.<\/p>\n

Israeli targeting of Iran\u2019s domestic security infrastructure is likely aimed at demoralizing the police and giving opposition groups space to organize, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt potentially creates a structure where it makes both a kind of popular uprising potentially more likely and more likely to succeed in the future, but it also creates space for the opposition to have organized armed resistance in the core of the country,\u201d Sabet said.<\/p>\n

Starmer and Trump discuss military cooperation<\/p>\n

British Prime Keir Starmer has spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump about the military cooperation between the two countries in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Trump has rebuked Starmer on several occasions since they last spoke over a week ago over the prime minister\u2019s initial decision not to permit the U.S. military to use British bases in the initial attacks against Iran, describing him at one point as \u201cnot Winston Churchill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starmer has now granted permission for \u201cdefensive\u201d actions against Iranian missile sites from U.K. bases after Iran started attacking countries throughout the region.<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s office in No. 10 Downing Street said the pair discussed the military cooperation between the U.K. and U.S. through the use of bases \u201cin support of the collective self-defense of partners in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starmer also shared his \u201cheartfelt condolences\u201d following the deaths of six U.S. soldiers.<\/p>\n

Israeli drone strike kills three in Gaza, hospital director says<\/p>\n

The strike Sunday in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City killed the three Palestinians and wounded several others, said Mohamed Abu Selmiya, the director of Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were brought.<\/p>\n

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.<\/p>\n

Israeli attacks have continued across the strip since the start of the latest war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

More than 72,100 Palestinians have been killed in the war sparked by Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Part of the Hamas-run government, its statistics are seen as generally reliable by the United Nations and independent experts.<\/p>\n

Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the initial attack and took another 251 hostage. The ceasefire deal ended major military operations and led to the release of all remaining captives but left major questions about Gaza\u2019s future unanswered.<\/p>\n

Trump says members of Iranian regime \u2018could qualify\u2019 to take power<\/p>\n

The president in an ABC News interview reiterated that he wants a say in who comes to power in Iran once the war is over, warning anew that the new leader \u201cis not going to last long\u201d if the person doesn\u2019t have his approval.<\/p>\n

Trump also expressed openness to someone with ties in the current regime.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would, in order to choose a good leader I would, yeah, I would,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThere are numerous people that could qualify.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did not specify any Iranian figures who fit his criteria.<\/p>\n

US defends allowing India buy Russian oil amid reports Moscow is aiding Iran<\/p>\n

Trump has faced blowback in Washington after the Treasury Department announced it would allow India to buy Russian oil until April 4.<\/p>\n

The move, which temporarily gives Russia a stream of revenue to fund its war against Ukraine that the U.S. only recently managed to cut off, -comes even as Moscow is reportedly sharing information with Iran that could help it target U.S. troops and assets in the Mideast.<\/p>\n

But top Trump administration officials say the waiver is motivated by pragmatism.<\/p>\n

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Russian oil being sold to India had been expected to go to Chinese refineries but had been idling at sea.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of having it wait six weeks to unload there, let\u2019s just pull that oil forward, have it land at Indian refineries and tamp this fear of shortage of oil, tamp the price spikes and the concerns we see in the marketplace,\u201d Wright said in an appearance on CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ambassador Mike Waltz, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, said on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d that \u201cit was kind of common sense\u201d to let the oil on idling ships go to India.<\/p>\n

Israeli ambassador envisions transitional Iranian government under US-Israeli \u2018guidance\u2019<\/p>\n

Michael Leiter, Israeli\u2019s ambassador to the United States, has laid out a vision for a post-theocracy Iran, with Jerusalem and Washington providing \u201cguidance\u201d for a pluralistic transitional government.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re hoping for is that we move into a period of a transitional government where the minorities come together, where the majority of the people come together, all the various opposition parties come together for a transitional government where they can lead the country for a year or so together with the guidance from the United States and Israel and other regional allies,\u201d Leiter told CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation\u201d Sunday morning.<\/p>\n

Leiter said Israel has cultivated relations with Iranian ethnic minorities, such as the Kurdish and Baluchi communities. But he said the country\u2019s ethnic Persian majority would need to buy in as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want a united Iran,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re encouraging them to do is to coalesce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leiter hailed the Israeli-American alliance that launched the ongoing unilateral war, saying, \u201cWe\u2019ve reached a level of collaboration that we\u2019ve never seen between our two countries and between our two militaries.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iranian state TV early Monday said Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country\u2019s late supreme leader,\u00a0has been named his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329912,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,87,47,43,78,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-329911","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-iran","10":"tag-middle-east","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-saudi-arabia","13":"tag-top-news","14":"tag-top-stories","15":"tag-topnews","16":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}