Three U.S. service members were killed in action and five&nbsp; seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. Central Command reported Sunday.

On social media Kansas U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall issued statement on the death of U.S. Soldiers.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/3/1772408102033.png" alt="Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command" />
                        <figcaption>Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Three U.S. service members were killed in action and five&nbsp; seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. Central Command reported Sunday.</p><p>On social media Kansas U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall issued statement on the death of U.S. Soldiers.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The U.S. has lost three American heroes who were killed in action as part of the military operation in Iran. <br><br>My prayers are with the families learning this devastating news and the troops who were wounded in action.</p>&mdash; Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/2028138268529705156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Our hearts are heavy this morning as we learn of the loss of American service members overseas.<br><br>We are praying for their loved ones, for the safety of those still in combat, and a swift end to this conflict.</p>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/2028128823212945825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Kansas lawmakers react to U.S. military deaths after attack on Iran

DAWSON COUNTY&nbsp; — Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol arrested one person after finding more than 240 pounds of suspected cocaine during a commercial vehicle inspection.

Tuesday afternoon, an NSP Carrier Enforcement trooper conducted a commercial vehicle inspection on a semi tractor/trailer near mile marker 254 on Interstate 80, according to a media release. During the inspection, the trooper became suspicious of criminal activity.

An NSP K9 detected the odor of a controlled substance inside the cab of the semi. A search of the cab revealed 242 pounds of suspected cocaine concealed underneath the sleeper bed.

The driver, Arwinderjit Singh, 30-years-old, of Manteca, California, was arrested for possession of cocaine, possession with intent to deliver, possession of an open alcohol container and displaying a fictitious license plate. He was lodged in Dawson County Jail.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1772216201651.jpeg" alt="Photo Nebraska State Patrol" />
                        <figcaption>Photo Nebraska State Patrol</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>DAWSON COUNTY&nbsp; — Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol arrested one person after finding more than 240 pounds of suspected cocaine during a commercial vehicle inspection.</p><p>Tuesday afternoon, an NSP Carrier Enforcement trooper conducted a commercial vehicle inspection on a semi tractor/trailer near mile marker 254 on Interstate 80, according to a media release. During the inspection, the trooper became suspicious of criminal activity.</p><p>An NSP K9 detected the odor of a controlled substance inside the cab of the semi. A search of the cab revealed 242 pounds of suspected cocaine concealed underneath the sleeper bed.</p><p>The driver, Arwinderjit Singh, 30-years-old, of Manteca, California, was arrested for possession of cocaine, possession with intent to deliver, possession of an open alcohol container and displaying a fictitious license plate. He was lodged in Dawson County Jail.</p>

Troopers found 242 pounds of cocaine during commercial truck inspection

&nbsp;WASHINGTON (AP) —President Donald Trump said of U.S. service members killed that America will ’avenge their deaths.”

The president made the comments in a roughly six minute video he posted on social media Sunday afternoon. He called the three service members “true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.”

The president went on and added: “Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more.”

<p>&nbsp;WASHINGTON (AP) —President Donald Trump said of U.S. service members killed that America will ’avenge their deaths.”</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Donald J. Trump provides an update on Operation Epic Fury: <a href="https://t.co/Vte8QKpISn">pic.twitter.com/Vte8QKpISn</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2028223915403669541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>The president made the comments in a roughly six minute video he posted on social media Sunday afternoon. He called the three service members “true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.”</p><p>The president went on and added: “Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more.”</p>

🎥President Trump warns more U.S. troops will "likely" die in Iran attacks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military says B-2 stealth bombers have struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs.

Ballistic missiles have been one of the concerns President Donald Trump had raised in the lead up to the attacks on Iran. Trump has claimed that Iran has been building ballistic missiles that could reach the U.S. homeland.

Iran hasn’t acknowledged it is building or seeking to build intercontinental ballistic missiles. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said in an unclassified report last year that Iran could develop a militarily viable intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035 “should Tehran decide to pursue the capability.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/3/1772387489513.png" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military says B-2 stealth bombers have struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Last night, U.S. B-2 stealth bombers, armed with 2,000 lb. bombs, struck Iran’s hardened ballistic missile facilities. No nation should ever doubt America&#39;s resolve. <a href="https://t.co/6JpG73lHYW">pic.twitter.com/6JpG73lHYW</a></p>&mdash; U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) <a href="https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/2028153060782973175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Ballistic missiles have been one of the concerns President Donald Trump had raised in the lead up to the attacks on Iran. Trump has claimed that Iran has been building ballistic missiles that could reach the U.S. homeland.</p><p>Iran hasn’t acknowledged it is building or seeking to build intercontinental ballistic missiles. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said in an unclassified report last year that Iran could develop a militarily viable intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035 “should Tehran decide to pursue the capability.”</p>

US military: Stealth bombers dropped bombs on Iran missile sites

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran vowed revenge Sunday after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-dead-5b13b69b708c4ed38e8f95f5fb41a597">killing of its supreme leader</a>&nbsp;and traded strikes with Israel as part of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/us-israel-strikes-iran-khamenei-03-01-2026">widening war</a>&nbsp;prompted by a surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment. The U.S. military said three service members have been killed, the first known American casualties from the conflict.

Blasts in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky in an area of government buildings. Iranian authorities say more than 200 people have been killed since the start of the U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-dead-5b13b69b708c4ed38e8f95f5fb41a597">Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</a>&nbsp;and other senior leaders.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/iran">Iran</a>&nbsp;fired missiles at targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation while Israel pledged "non-stop" strikes against Iran's leaders and military.

In Israel,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-war-shelters-missiles-245b1675544434848160845a2e991b9d">loud explosions</a>&nbsp;caused by missile impacts or interceptions could be heard in Tel Aviv. Israel’s rescue services said nine people were killed and 28 wounded in a strike that hit a synagogue in the central town of Beit Shemesh, bringing the overall death toll in the country to 11. Eleven people were still missing after the strike, police said, as rescue crews combed the rubble.

The U.S. military, meanwhile, said B-2 stealth bombers have struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. Ballistic missiles have been one of the concerns Trump had raised in the lead up to the attacks. U.S. President Donald Trump said the military had also sunk nine Iranian warships.

The strikes and counterattacks underscored how the killing of Khamenei, and Trump's calls for the overthrow of the decades-old Islamic Republic, carried the potential for a prolonged conflict that could envelop the Middle East. It also represents a startling show of military might for an American president who swept into office on an “America First” platform and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-strike-conflict-us-war-opposition-8fa7a441a4a696a8562de583395ab0bf">vowed to keep out of “forever wars.”</a>

In Tehran, there was little sign that Iranians had heeded Trump's call for an uprising against the government.

The streets were largely deserted as people sheltered during heavy airstrikes, witnesses told The Associated Press, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-middle-east-577c596775fb9a78d78107004d29d0f9">The paramilitary Basij</a>, which has played a central role in crushing protests, has set up checkpoints across the city, they said.

In southern Iran, at least 165 people were killed when a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The Israeli military said it was not aware of strikes in the area. The U.S. military said it was looking into the reports.

The U.S. military said three service members were killed and five others seriously wounded, without providing further details. It said several others suffered minor injuries and concussions.

In the 12-day war last June, Israeli and American strikes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-fordo-us-strike-trump-israel-nuclear-sites-320a85327f94ed7496f09564261f3148">greatly weakened</a>&nbsp;Iran’s air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program. But the killing of Khamenei, who had ruled Iran for more than three decades, creates a leadership vacuum, increasing the risk of regional instability.

The CIA had been tracking the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including Khamenei, for months, according to a person familiar with the operation who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The intelligence was shared with Israeli officials, and the timing of the strikes was adjusted in part because of that information, the person said.

The New York Times earlier reported about the CIA’s efforts ahead of the Israeli-U.S. strikes.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a prerecorded message that a new leadership council had begun its work. The country's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said a new supreme leader would be chosen in “one or two days.”

A senior White House official said Sunday that “new potential leadership” in Iran has suggested they are open for talks with the United States. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.

As word spread of Khamenei’s death, some in Tehran could be seen cheering from rooftops, witnesses said. Others mourned as a black flag was raised over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

“You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”

“THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT,” he said in a social media post. “IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”

In a sign of how the attack could stoke regional unrest, hundreds of people&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-protesters-attacked-us-consulate-karachi-iran-a3cc0c3c6f126cc54a657f61d312a203">stormed the U.S. Consulate</a>&nbsp;in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi. Police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, and at least nine people were killed in the clashes, authorities said.

Iran retaliates with missiles and drone attacks

As U.S. and Israeli strikes have pounded Iran, the Islamic Republic has retaliated with missiles and drone attacks on Israel and nearby Arab Gulf countries hosting U.S. forces.

The air war could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran makes the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-strait-hormuz-us-protests-persian-gulf-db7159d715453977279ab9cfd918e6e4">Around 20% of the world's traded oil</a>&nbsp;passes through the vital waterway.

While Iran struck U.S. bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the attacks have also hit outside of military installations, including a hotel in the Emirati city of Dubai, and Kuwait’s international airport. At least four people have been killed in strikes on Gulf countries.

Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, blamed such strikes on the U.S. and Israel for starting the war. He said he had spoken to his counterparts in the Gulf countries and urged them to pressure the U.S. and Israel to end it.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that Israel will have “a non-stop air train” of strikes against Iranian military and leadership targets. The U.S. military said it had struck an Iranian warship at a port on the Gulf of Oman that was now sinking.

Flights across the Middle East were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-flights-airspace-travel-0346e29ee99eaee2838c8e08f4facb78">disrupted</a>, and air defense fire thudded over Dubai. The United Arab Emirates’ commercial capital has long drawn business and expatriates by billing itself as a safe haven in a volatile region.

Iran forms council to govern until a new supreme leader is chosen

As&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-khamenei-supreme-leader-nuclear-protests-military-487aa76fd32f398f2ca37d316e543760">supreme leader</a>, Khamenei had final say on all major policies since 1989. He led Iran’s clerical establishment and the Revolutionary Guard, the two main centers of power in the governing theocracy.

An Iranian medical professional in northern Iran said he and colleagues spent the early hours of Sunday celebrating Khamenei's death indoors because armed security forces are still heavily deployed in his city.

There were forces stopping and interrogating people celebrating in their cars but there was no gunfire, said the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

“It was one of the best nights, if not the best night of our lives,” the doctor said in a voice message from the city of Rasht. In fact, “it was actually my first time ever smoking a cigarette. It was a very very nice time. We didn’t sleep at all. And we don’t even feel tired.”

Strikes were planned for months and feared for weeks

Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as the Trump administration built up the&nbsp;<a href="http://tensions%20have%20soared%20in%20recent%20weeks%20as%20american%20warships%20moved%20into%20the%20region./">largest force of American warships</a>&nbsp;and aircraft in the Middle East in decades. The president insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program while the country struggled with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-protests-students-nuclear-khamenei-096e7ede9bc9c1e7b889878af9d6e750">growing dissent</a>&nbsp;following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-memorials-chehelom-71e5db503a287126a2d31cb32a2809eb">nationwide protests</a>.

Democrats decried that Trump had taken&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-war-powers-trump-iran-constitution-37ec6685d9ded1d467a719f91e537487">action without congressional authorization</a>. The White House said it had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance.

Though Trump had pronounced the Iranian nuclear program obliterated in strikes last year, the country was rebuilding infrastructure that it had lost, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss Trump’s decision-making process. The official said intelligence showed that Iran had developed the capability to produce its own high-quality centrifuges, an important step in developing the highly enriched uranium needed for weapons.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-enrichment-c0079c38746a896e2967a9a9cc2799d5">Iran has said it has not enriched since June</a>, though it has maintained its right to do so while saying its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. It has also blocked international inspectors from visiting the sites the U.S. bombed. Satellite photos analyzed by AP have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-nuclear-enrichment-satellite-d5c78b5fe974ec2fc338b8ad6d6a7d68">shown new activity at two of those sites</a>.

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel; Boak from West Palm Beach, Florida; and Tucker from Washington. Associated Press writers Joe Federman in Jerusalem, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Amir Radjy in Cairo, Aamer Madhani, Konstantin Toropin and David Klepper in Washington, Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, Farnoush Amiri in New York, David Rising in Bangkok and AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/3/1772379670099.png" alt="Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command" />
                        <figcaption>Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran vowed revenge Sunday after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-dead-5b13b69b708c4ed38e8f95f5fb41a597">killing of its supreme leader</a>&nbsp;and traded strikes with Israel as part of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/us-israel-strikes-iran-khamenei-03-01-2026">widening war</a>&nbsp;prompted by a surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment. The U.S. military said three service members have been killed, the first known American casualties from the conflict.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/AeAfBbVaAq">pic.twitter.com/AeAfBbVaAq</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2028158948910776648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Blasts in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky in an area of government buildings. Iranian authorities say more than 200 people have been killed since the start of the U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-dead-5b13b69b708c4ed38e8f95f5fb41a597">Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</a>&nbsp;and other senior leaders.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/iran">Iran</a>&nbsp;fired missiles at targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation while Israel pledged "non-stop" strikes against Iran's leaders and military.</p><p>In Israel,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-war-shelters-missiles-245b1675544434848160845a2e991b9d">loud explosions</a>&nbsp;caused by missile impacts or interceptions could be heard in Tel Aviv. Israel’s rescue services said nine people were killed and 28 wounded in a strike that hit a synagogue in the central town of Beit Shemesh, bringing the overall death toll in the country to 11. Eleven people were still missing after the strike, police said, as rescue crews combed the rubble.</p><p>The U.S. military, meanwhile, said B-2 stealth bombers have struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. Ballistic missiles have been one of the concerns Trump had raised in the lead up to the attacks. U.S. President Donald Trump said the military had also sunk nine Iranian warships.</p><p>The strikes and counterattacks underscored how the killing of Khamenei, and Trump's calls for the overthrow of the decades-old Islamic Republic, carried the potential for a prolonged conflict that could envelop the Middle East. It also represents a startling show of military might for an American president who swept into office on an “America First” platform and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-strike-conflict-us-war-opposition-8fa7a441a4a696a8562de583395ab0bf">vowed to keep out of “forever wars.”</a></p><h2>Streets of Tehran are largely deserted</h2><p>In Tehran, there was little sign that Iranians had heeded Trump's call for an uprising against the government.</p><p>The streets were largely deserted as people sheltered during heavy airstrikes, witnesses told The Associated Press, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-middle-east-577c596775fb9a78d78107004d29d0f9">The paramilitary Basij</a>, which has played a central role in crushing protests, has set up checkpoints across the city, they said.</p><p>In southern Iran, at least 165 people were killed when a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The Israeli military said it was not aware of strikes in the area. The U.S. military said it was looking into the reports.</p><p>The U.S. military said three service members were killed and five others seriously wounded, without providing further details. It said several others suffered minor injuries and concussions.</p><p>In the 12-day war last June, Israeli and American strikes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-fordo-us-strike-trump-israel-nuclear-sites-320a85327f94ed7496f09564261f3148">greatly weakened</a>&nbsp;Iran’s air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program. But the killing of Khamenei, who had ruled Iran for more than three decades, creates a leadership vacuum, increasing the risk of regional instability.</p><p>The CIA had been tracking the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including Khamenei, for months, according to a person familiar with the operation who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The intelligence was shared with Israeli officials, and the timing of the strikes was adjusted in part because of that information, the person said.</p><p>The New York Times earlier reported about the CIA’s efforts ahead of the Israeli-U.S. strikes.</p><p>Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a prerecorded message that a new leadership council had begun its work. The country's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said a new supreme leader would be chosen in “one or two days.”</p><p>A senior White House official said Sunday that “new potential leadership” in Iran has suggested they are open for talks with the United States. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.</p><h2>Iran vows revenge for Khamenei killing</h2><p>As word spread of Khamenei’s death, some in Tehran could be seen cheering from rooftops, witnesses said. Others mourned as a black flag was raised over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.</p><p>“You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”</p><p>Trump warned against retaliation.</p><p>“THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT,” he said in a social media post. “IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”</p><p>In a sign of how the attack could stoke regional unrest, hundreds of people&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-protesters-attacked-us-consulate-karachi-iran-a3cc0c3c6f126cc54a657f61d312a203">stormed the U.S. Consulate</a>&nbsp;in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi. Police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, and at least nine people were killed in the clashes, authorities said.</p><h2>Iran retaliates with missiles and drone attacks</h2><p>As U.S. and Israeli strikes have pounded Iran, the Islamic Republic has retaliated with missiles and drone attacks on Israel and nearby Arab Gulf countries hosting U.S. forces.</p><p>The air war could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran makes the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-strait-hormuz-us-protests-persian-gulf-db7159d715453977279ab9cfd918e6e4">Around 20% of the world's traded oil</a>&nbsp;passes through the vital waterway.</p><p>While Iran struck U.S. bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the attacks have also hit outside of military installations, including a hotel in the Emirati city of Dubai, and Kuwait’s international airport. At least four people have been killed in strikes on Gulf countries.</p><p>Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, blamed such strikes on the U.S. and Israel for starting the war. He said he had spoken to his counterparts in the Gulf countries and urged them to pressure the U.S. and Israel to end it.</p><p>Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that Israel will have “a non-stop air train” of strikes against Iranian military and leadership targets. The U.S. military said it had struck an Iranian warship at a port on the Gulf of Oman that was now sinking.</p><p>Flights across the Middle East were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-flights-airspace-travel-0346e29ee99eaee2838c8e08f4facb78">disrupted</a>, and air defense fire thudded over Dubai. The United Arab Emirates’ commercial capital has long drawn business and expatriates by billing itself as a safe haven in a volatile region.</p><h2>Iran forms council to govern until a new supreme leader is chosen</h2><p>As&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-khamenei-supreme-leader-nuclear-protests-military-487aa76fd32f398f2ca37d316e543760">supreme leader</a>, Khamenei had final say on all major policies since 1989. He led Iran’s clerical establishment and the Revolutionary Guard, the two main centers of power in the governing theocracy.</p><p>An Iranian medical professional in northern Iran said he and colleagues spent the early hours of Sunday celebrating Khamenei's death indoors because armed security forces are still heavily deployed in his city.</p><p>There were forces stopping and interrogating people celebrating in their cars but there was no gunfire, said the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.</p><p>“It was one of the best nights, if not the best night of our lives,” the doctor said in a voice message from the city of Rasht. In fact, “it was actually my first time ever smoking a cigarette. It was a very very nice time. We didn’t sleep at all. And we don’t even feel tired.”</p><h2>Strikes were planned for months and feared for weeks</h2><p>Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as the Trump administration built up the&nbsp;<a href="http://tensions%20have%20soared%20in%20recent%20weeks%20as%20american%20warships%20moved%20into%20the%20region./">largest force of American warships</a>&nbsp;and aircraft in the Middle East in decades. The president insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program while the country struggled with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-protests-students-nuclear-khamenei-096e7ede9bc9c1e7b889878af9d6e750">growing dissent</a>&nbsp;following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-memorials-chehelom-71e5db503a287126a2d31cb32a2809eb">nationwide protests</a>.</p><p>Democrats decried that Trump had taken&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-war-powers-trump-iran-constitution-37ec6685d9ded1d467a719f91e537487">action without congressional authorization</a>. The White House said it had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance.</p><p>Though Trump had pronounced the Iranian nuclear program obliterated in strikes last year, the country was rebuilding infrastructure that it had lost, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss Trump’s decision-making process. The official said intelligence showed that Iran had developed the capability to produce its own high-quality centrifuges, an important step in developing the highly enriched uranium needed for weapons.</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-enrichment-c0079c38746a896e2967a9a9cc2799d5">Iran has said it has not enriched since June</a>, though it has maintained its right to do so while saying its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. It has also blocked international inspectors from visiting the sites the U.S. bombed. Satellite photos analyzed by AP have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-nuclear-enrichment-satellite-d5c78b5fe974ec2fc338b8ad6d6a7d68">shown new activity at two of those sites</a>.</p><p>___</p><p>Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel; Boak from West Palm Beach, Florida; and Tucker from Washington. Associated Press writers Joe Federman in Jerusalem, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Amir Radjy in Cairo, Aamer Madhani, Konstantin Toropin and David Klepper in Washington, Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, Farnoush Amiri in New York, David Rising in Bangkok and AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.</p>

President Trump says 9 Iranian warships have been sunk

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Three American service members have been killed and five have been seriously wounded in military operations targeting Iran, the U.S. military said.

They are the first reported American casualties since the U.S. and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran.

U.S. Central Command said Sunday in a post on X that several others “sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty.”

The post stated that major combat operations will continue. It did not provide further information about the casualties and described the situation as “fluid.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1772307892150.png" alt="Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command" />
                        <figcaption>Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Three American service members have been killed and five have been seriously wounded in military operations targeting Iran, the U.S. military said.</p><p>They are the first reported American casualties since the U.S. and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury: <br><br>“The President ordered bold action, and our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call,” - Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM Commander <a href="https://t.co/McrC7xeM0A">pic.twitter.com/McrC7xeM0A</a></p>&mdash; U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) <a href="https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/2027990979253334026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>U.S. Central Command said Sunday in a post on X that several others “sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty.”</p><p>The post stated that major combat operations will continue. It did not provide further information about the casualties and described the situation as “fluid.”</p>

3 US service members killed, 5 wounded in Iran operation

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/mchilson/">Morgan Chilson</a><br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/"><i>Kansas Reflector</i></a>

TOPEKA — CoreCivic can’t house immigration detainees before reaching an agreement with the city of Leavenworth on reopening its private prison, the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled Friday when it upheld a lower court’s decision.

“There is nothing to suggest that CoreCivic is being singled out here,” the Court of Appeals decision said. “The City is merely attempting to enforce its zoning regulations that impose requirements on every entity regardless of its status as a contractor with the federal government.”

Nashville-based CoreCivic&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2026/02/10/corecivic-appeals-to-overturn-injunction-keeping-it-from-housing-ice-detainees/">appealed an injunction</a>&nbsp;by Leavenworth County District Court that banned it from beginning to take detainees to fulfill its U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contract. The company announced in 2025 that it would reopen its closed prison as the Midwest Regional Reception Center.&nbsp;

Leavenworth officials said CoreCivic needed a special use permit to do so. The disagreement launched back-and-forth court cases, one of which spawned the injunction against housing detainees while the two worked it out.

In the midst of court actions, CoreCivic applied for a special use permit that is&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2026/02/25/after-marathon-meeting-corecivic-moves-closer-to-reopening-leavenworth-prison/">nearing approval</a>&nbsp;by city officials.

In its decision, Court of Appeals judges listed three facts they considered before upholding the decision by Leavenworth County District Judge John Bryant — whether the district court’s decision was “arbitrary, fanciful or unreasonable,” based on an error in law or a factual error.

Chief Judge Sarah Warner and Judges Thomas Malone and Stephen Hill issued a 22-page decision that stepped through district court arguments before determining no errors were made in the original ruling.

The appeals court decision outlines the case Leavenworth presented in support of the injunction and breaks down why the district court didn’t err in its decision.

CoreCivic argued the city’s case didn’t have crucial elements that make the injunction reasonable, including a “substantial likelihood” of success and tangible, irreparable harm. The Court of Appeals considered the district judge’s decision on those elements and disagreed with the company.

In considering whether irreparable harm was an issue, the court noted “alarming” testimony supporting the city’s reports that CoreCivic denied local law enforcement access to investigate crimes.

“Patrick Kitchens, the City’s Chief of Police, offered sworn testimony about CoreCivic’s operation of the MRRC that is, to put it mildly, somewhat alarming,” the Appeals decision said. “Kitchens testified that ‘the Leavenworth Police Department encountered many significant problems in responding to reports of crimes, including violent felonies, at the Facility. Due to frequent changes in leadership at CoreCivic, we had difficulty in getting these problems addressed.’ ”

Kitchens gave evidence of a November 2018 inmate death that CoreCivic didn’t report to police for six days, that CoreCivic discouraged police from investigating at least three sexual assaults and that the company didn’t allow employees who were crime victims to interview with city police while they were on duty.

“We have more than (enough) evidence of ‘past harms’ to support the City’s request for a temporary injunction,” the appeals judges wrote. “CoreCivic’s actions demonstrate a very real and imminent harm. … The substantial evidence of the City’s problems with CoreCivic’s operation of the facility combined with the minimal evidence the problems will be addressed supports a reasonable probability of irreparable harm.”

CoreCivic officials have been working through Leavenworth’s special permit process, including addressing Kitchens’ concerns. Kitchens told city commissioners at a meeting last week that he believes previous problems will be addressed by the special use permit.

The permitting process, which led to about 100 people offering public input on the issue, is nearing completion. The Leavenworth City Commission voted 4-1 to pass the permit on for second consideration, which will be March 10. At that point, the commission will vote on the permit or could remand it go back to the city’s planning commission and ask for changes.

If the city denies the permit, CoreCivic can appeal in district court.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1772248143838.png" alt="The Kansas Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s injunction Friday, stopping CoreCivic from housing prisoners ahead of reaching agreement with Leavenworth city officials. Judge Stephen Hill questioned CoreCivic attorneys during the appeals on Feb. 10, 2026. (Photo by Thad Allton for the Kansas Reflector)" />
                        <figcaption>The Kansas Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s injunction Friday, stopping CoreCivic from housing prisoners ahead of reaching agreement with Leavenworth city officials. Judge Stephen Hill questioned CoreCivic attorneys during the appeals on Feb. 10, 2026. (Photo by Thad Allton for the Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/mchilson/">Morgan Chilson</a><br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/"><i>Kansas Reflector</i></a></p><p>TOPEKA — CoreCivic can’t house immigration detainees before reaching an agreement with the city of Leavenworth on reopening its private prison, the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled Friday when it upheld a lower court’s decision.</p><p>“There is nothing to suggest that CoreCivic is being singled out here,” the Court of Appeals decision said. “The City is merely attempting to enforce its zoning regulations that impose requirements on every entity regardless of its status as a contractor with the federal government.”</p><p>Nashville-based CoreCivic&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2026/02/10/corecivic-appeals-to-overturn-injunction-keeping-it-from-housing-ice-detainees/">appealed an injunction</a>&nbsp;by Leavenworth County District Court that banned it from beginning to take detainees to fulfill its U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contract. The company announced in 2025 that it would reopen its closed prison as the Midwest Regional Reception Center.&nbsp;</p><p>Leavenworth officials said CoreCivic needed a special use permit to do so. The disagreement launched back-and-forth court cases, one of which spawned the injunction against housing detainees while the two worked it out.</p><p>In the midst of court actions, CoreCivic applied for a special use permit that is&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2026/02/25/after-marathon-meeting-corecivic-moves-closer-to-reopening-leavenworth-prison/">nearing approval</a>&nbsp;by city officials.</p><p>In its decision, Court of Appeals judges listed three facts they considered before upholding the decision by Leavenworth County District Judge John Bryant — whether the district court’s decision was “arbitrary, fanciful or unreasonable,” based on an error in law or a factual error.</p><p>Chief Judge Sarah Warner and Judges Thomas Malone and Stephen Hill issued a 22-page decision that stepped through district court arguments before determining no errors were made in the original ruling.</p><p>The appeals court decision outlines the case Leavenworth presented in support of the injunction and breaks down why the district court didn’t err in its decision.</p><p>CoreCivic argued the city’s case didn’t have crucial elements that make the injunction reasonable, including a “substantial likelihood” of success and tangible, irreparable harm. The Court of Appeals considered the district judge’s decision on those elements and disagreed with the company.</p><p>In considering whether irreparable harm was an issue, the court noted “alarming” testimony supporting the city’s reports that CoreCivic denied local law enforcement access to investigate crimes.</p><p>“Patrick Kitchens, the City’s Chief of Police, offered sworn testimony about CoreCivic’s operation of the MRRC that is, to put it mildly, somewhat alarming,” the Appeals decision said. “Kitchens testified that ‘the Leavenworth Police Department encountered many significant problems in responding to reports of crimes, including violent felonies, at the Facility. Due to frequent changes in leadership at CoreCivic, we had difficulty in getting these problems addressed.’ ”</p><p>Kitchens gave evidence of a November 2018 inmate death that CoreCivic didn’t report to police for six days, that CoreCivic discouraged police from investigating at least three sexual assaults and that the company didn’t allow employees who were crime victims to interview with city police while they were on duty.</p><p>“We have more than (enough) evidence of ‘past harms’ to support the City’s request for a temporary injunction,” the appeals judges wrote. “CoreCivic’s actions demonstrate a very real and imminent harm. … The substantial evidence of the City’s problems with CoreCivic’s operation of the facility combined with the minimal evidence the problems will be addressed supports a reasonable probability of irreparable harm.”</p><p>CoreCivic officials have been working through Leavenworth’s special permit process, including addressing Kitchens’ concerns. Kitchens told city commissioners at a meeting last week that he believes previous problems will be addressed by the special use permit.</p><p>The permitting process, which led to about 100 people offering public input on the issue, is nearing completion. The Leavenworth City Commission voted 4-1 to pass the permit on for second consideration, which will be March 10. At that point, the commission will vote on the permit or could remand it go back to the city’s planning commission and ask for changes.</p><p>If the city denies the permit, CoreCivic can appeal in district court.</p>

Kansas Court of Appeals ruled CoreCivic can’t house ICE detainees without Leavenworth permit

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) &nbsp;—A massive explosion&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-03-01-2026-693bc30bbbc98660d81f4a13f65ca10f">struck Iran’s capital</a>&nbsp;Sunday as the Israeli military said it was striking targets in central Tehran. Earlier,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/iran">Iran&nbsp;</a>fired missiles at an ever-widening list of targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation for the killing of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-dead-5b13b69b708c4ed38e8f95f5fb41a597">Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei&nbsp;</a>by the United States and Israel.

The blast in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground. It appeared centered in neighborhoods home to the country’s police headquarters and Iranian state television, as well as Tehran’s Revolutionary Court and a Defense Ministry building.

The joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran followed weeks of tensions as the Trump administration built up&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-military-iran-buildup-nuclear-program-5663a8b0d81c8439adfaa010c59a36f5">the largest force of American warships and aircraft</a>&nbsp;in the Middle East in decades. The president insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program. Iran responded to the U.S.-Israeli strikes by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and targeting U.S. military installations in the region.

US priority is Iran's ‘vast missile arsenal'

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee says a priority for its joint military campaign is Iran’s “vast missile arsenal.”

Republican Tom Cotton of Arkansas told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that those missiles threatened American troops “from bases as far flung as the Indian Ocean to Western Europe.”

“We’re stopping a lot of them from being fired before Iran can fire them. It’s much easier to kill the archer on the ground than it is to shoot his arrows out of the sky,” he said in the television interview.

Israel says it its strikes killed 40 top Iranian military officials

Israel’s military claimed Sunday that its strikes had killed 40 top Iranian military officials, including the chief of staff for the Iranian armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi. Israel did not provide evidence, and neither Iran nor the United States immediately commented on the claim.

The Israeli military also said it had “dismantled the majority of the aerial defense systems in western and central Iran” and was “paving the way towards establishing aerial superiority over the skies of Tehran.”

Egypt’s leader warns of chaos in the Middle East

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt has warned that the Middle East could slide into chaos as the conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran entered a second day.

He called for “dialogue and peaceful means” to settle the region’s crises, saying that the escalation has serious consequences that could push the Mideast into chaos. El-Sissi’s comments came in a phone call Sunday with Oman’s leader, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, according to the Egyptian leader’s office.

Pope Leo XIV said Sunday he was “profoundly concerned” about the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and urged both sides to “stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”

In the Holy See’s first reaction to the attacks, the American pope called for the resumption of diplomacy and a “reasonable, authentic and responsible” dialogue based on justice.

Weapons only sow “destruction, pain and death," he said from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at his traditional noontime blessing.

China calls killing of Iran's supreme leader ‘unacceptable’

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi sharply criticized the killing of Khamenei in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

“The blatant killing of the leader of a sovereign state and the incitement of regime change are unacceptable,” he was quoted as saying by China’s official Xinhua News Agency. “These actions violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations.”

He said attacking a sovereign state without U.N. Security Council authorization undermines the foundation for peace established after World War II.

“The international community should speak in a clear and unequivocal voice, opposing the world regressing to the law of the jungle,” he said.

British warplanes poised to knock out Iranian missiles and drones

British Defense Minister John Healey said Iranian missile and drone strikes came within a few hundred yards (meters) of a group of 300 British military personnel in Bahrain and that two missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, where the U.K. has bases.

“We don’t believe they were targeted at Cyprus, but nevertheless, it’s an example of how there is a very real and rising threat from a regime that is lashing out widely across the region, and that requires us to act,” Healey told Sky News.

He said British planes will intercept any Iranian drones and missiles they see.

Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis posted on X that reports suggesting missiles had been fired toward Cyprus are not valid and that “there is no indication whatsoever that any threat to the country has occurred.”

Putin, Hezbollah leader mourn Khamenei’s death

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was “a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”

Putin on Sunday sent condolences to his Iranian counterpart, saying Khamenei will be remembered “as an outstanding statesman” who helped elevate Russian-Iranian relations.

In Lebanon, the leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, Naim Kassem, mourned Khamenei’s death in a U.S.-Israeli strike, and said: “We will fulfill our duty in confronting aggression.” He vowed that Hezbollah will not abandon its resistance of confronting American and Israeli “tyranny.”

The United Arab Emirates' Defense Ministry said Sunday that three people have been killed so far in Iranian attacks on the country.

The ministry said Iran had launched 165 ballistic missiles targeting the country, of which 152 were destroyed. Thirteen fell into the sea, it added.

Iran launched 541 bomb-carrying drones at the UAE, of which 506 were destroyed. Another 35 struck the country, killing three people from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, while 58 others were wounded.

Iran has launched 97 ballistic missiles at Kuwait

Iran fired 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones at Kuwait since the start of the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, the Gulf nation’s military said.

The military said in a statement interception operations led to shrapnel falling in parts of the county, causing “limited damage.”

On Saturday, the military said three Kuwaiti troops were wounded when shrapnel landed in the Ali Al Salem airbase.

Israel’s police said at least five people were killed and 23 others wounded in a strike that hit central Israel on Sunday.

A spokesperson for the rescue services said searches were ongoing for additional victims.

Iran has so far launched dozens of rockets at Israel.

Pakistani prime minister offers condolences over Khamenei's killing

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday conveyed his condolences to Tehran following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He said his country was gravely concerned about the violation of international law, as heads of state shouldn’t be targeted.

This follows repeated Iranian attacks on the kingdom.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the country expressed “dismay, condemnation and denunciation of the Iranian attacks on the kingdom and the Gulf states.”

It added that the kingdom “will take all necessary measures to defend its security and protect its territory.”

Israel’s state plane moved to Berlin airport

Israel’s state plane has been moved to Berlin’s BER airport, according to a reporter at the German press agency, dpa, who said they saw the craft at the tarmac.

According to dpa, which quoted Flightradar data, the plane left Israel Saturday afternoon, circled over the Mediterranean for hours, and then landed in Berlin in the evening.

Israel’s state aircraft, “Wing of Zion,” is a Boeing 767 equipped for official government trips, serving both the president and the prime minister.

There have been no immediate comments from the Berlin airport or the Israeli embassy in Berlin.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemns Iranian attack on its capital

Saudi Arabia has condemned in “the strongest terms” Iran’s attacks on the capital, Riyadh and the eastern region, which it said were “successfully intercepted.”

The Saudi foreign ministry said Sunday in a statement the attacks came “despite the Iranian authorities’ knowledge that the Kingdom had affirmed it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/3/1772371332312.jpeg" alt="Government supporters mourn during a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in the poster, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)" />
                        <figcaption>Government supporters mourn during a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in the poster, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) &nbsp;—A massive explosion&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-03-01-2026-693bc30bbbc98660d81f4a13f65ca10f">struck Iran’s capital</a>&nbsp;Sunday as the Israeli military said it was striking targets in central Tehran. Earlier,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/iran">Iran&nbsp;</a>fired missiles at an ever-widening list of targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation for the killing of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-dead-5b13b69b708c4ed38e8f95f5fb41a597">Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei&nbsp;</a>by the United States and Israel.</p><p>The blast in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground. It appeared centered in neighborhoods home to the country’s police headquarters and Iranian state television, as well as Tehran’s Revolutionary Court and a Defense Ministry building.</p><p>The joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran followed weeks of tensions as the Trump administration built up&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-military-iran-buildup-nuclear-program-5663a8b0d81c8439adfaa010c59a36f5">the largest force of American warships and aircraft</a>&nbsp;in the Middle East in decades. The president insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program. Iran responded to the U.S.-Israeli strikes by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and targeting U.S. military installations in the region.</p><ul>
                        <li><b>Khamenei has no known successor:</b>&nbsp;The killing of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-khamenei-supreme-leader-nuclear-protests-military-487aa76fd32f398f2ca37d316e543760">86-year-old supreme leader</a>&nbsp;appeared certain to create a leadership vacuum, given that he had final say on all major policies during his decades in power.</li><li><b>Iran’s chief of army staff and defense minister killed in airstrike:&nbsp;</b>Iran’s chief of army staff and defense minister&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-leadership-tehran-trump-israel-b046aea281a5a9b83eb82c4a62350f59">were killed in an airstrike</a>&nbsp;targeting a meeting of the country’s defense council, Iranian state television reported Sunday.</li>
                    </ul><h2>US priority is Iran's ‘vast missile arsenal'</h2><p>The chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee says a priority for its joint military campaign is Iran’s “vast missile arsenal.”</p><p>Republican Tom Cotton of Arkansas told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that those missiles threatened American troops “from bases as far flung as the Indian Ocean to Western Europe.”</p><p>“We’re stopping a lot of them from being fired before Iran can fire them. It’s much easier to kill the archer on the ground than it is to shoot his arrows out of the sky,” he said in the television interview.</p><h2>Israel says it its strikes killed 40 top Iranian military officials</h2><p>Israel’s military claimed Sunday that its strikes had killed 40 top Iranian military officials, including the chief of staff for the Iranian armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi. Israel did not provide evidence, and neither Iran nor the United States immediately commented on the claim.</p><p>The Israeli military also said it had “dismantled the majority of the aerial defense systems in western and central Iran” and was “paving the way towards establishing aerial superiority over the skies of Tehran.”</p><h2>Egypt’s leader warns of chaos in the Middle East</h2><p>Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt has warned that the Middle East could slide into chaos as the conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran entered a second day.</p><p>He called for “dialogue and peaceful means” to settle the region’s crises, saying that the escalation has serious consequences that could push the Mideast into chaos. El-Sissi’s comments came in a phone call Sunday with Oman’s leader, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, according to the Egyptian leader’s office.</p><h2>Pope urges an end to the conflict</h2><p>Pope Leo XIV said Sunday he was “profoundly concerned” about the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and urged both sides to “stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”</p><p>In the Holy See’s first reaction to the attacks, the American pope called for the resumption of diplomacy and a “reasonable, authentic and responsible” dialogue based on justice.</p><p>Weapons only sow “destruction, pain and death," he said from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at his traditional noontime blessing.</p><h2>China calls killing of Iran's supreme leader ‘unacceptable’</h2><p>China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi sharply criticized the killing of Khamenei in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.</p><p>“The blatant killing of the leader of a sovereign state and the incitement of regime change are unacceptable,” he was quoted as saying by China’s official Xinhua News Agency. “These actions violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations.”</p><p>He said attacking a sovereign state without U.N. Security Council authorization undermines the foundation for peace established after World War II.</p><p>“The international community should speak in a clear and unequivocal voice, opposing the world regressing to the law of the jungle,” he said.</p><h2>British warplanes poised to knock out Iranian missiles and drones</h2><p>British Defense Minister John Healey said Iranian missile and drone strikes came within a few hundred yards (meters) of a group of 300 British military personnel in Bahrain and that two missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, where the U.K. has bases.</p><p>“We don’t believe they were targeted at Cyprus, but nevertheless, it’s an example of how there is a very real and rising threat from a regime that is lashing out widely across the region, and that requires us to act,” Healey told Sky News.</p><p>He said British planes will intercept any Iranian drones and missiles they see.</p><p>Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis posted on X that reports suggesting missiles had been fired toward Cyprus are not valid and that “there is no indication whatsoever that any threat to the country has occurred.”</p><h2>Putin, Hezbollah leader mourn Khamenei’s death</h2><p>Russian President Vladimir Putin said the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was “a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”</p><p>Putin on Sunday sent condolences to his Iranian counterpart, saying Khamenei will be remembered “as an outstanding statesman” who helped elevate Russian-Iranian relations.</p><p>In Lebanon, the leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, Naim Kassem, mourned Khamenei’s death in a U.S.-Israeli strike, and said: “We will fulfill our duty in confronting aggression.” He vowed that Hezbollah will not abandon its resistance of confronting American and Israeli “tyranny.”</p><h2>3 people killed in the UAE</h2><p>The United Arab Emirates' Defense Ministry said Sunday that three people have been killed so far in Iranian attacks on the country.</p><p>The ministry said Iran had launched 165 ballistic missiles targeting the country, of which 152 were destroyed. Thirteen fell into the sea, it added.</p><p>Iran launched 541 bomb-carrying drones at the UAE, of which 506 were destroyed. Another 35 struck the country, killing three people from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, while 58 others were wounded.</p><h2>Iran has launched 97 ballistic missiles at Kuwait</h2><p>Iran fired 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones at Kuwait since the start of the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, the Gulf nation’s military said.</p><p>The military said in a statement interception operations led to shrapnel falling in parts of the county, causing “limited damage.”</p><p>On Saturday, the military said three Kuwaiti troops were wounded when shrapnel landed in the Ali Al Salem airbase.</p><h2>At least 6 killed in Israel</h2><p>Israel’s police said at least five people were killed and 23 others wounded in a strike that hit central Israel on Sunday.</p><p>A spokesperson for the rescue services said searches were ongoing for additional victims.</p><p>Iran has so far launched dozens of rockets at Israel.</p><h2>Pakistani prime minister offers condolences over Khamenei's killing</h2><p>Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday conveyed his condolences to Tehran following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.</p><p>He said his country was gravely concerned about the violation of international law, as heads of state shouldn’t be targeted.</p><h2>Saudi Arabia summons Iranian ambassador</h2><p>This follows repeated Iranian attacks on the kingdom.</p><p>The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the country expressed “dismay, condemnation and denunciation of the Iranian attacks on the kingdom and the Gulf states.”</p><p>It added that the kingdom “will take all necessary measures to defend its security and protect its territory.”</p><h2>Israel’s state plane moved to Berlin airport</h2><p>Israel’s state plane has been moved to Berlin’s BER airport, according to a reporter at the German press agency, dpa, who said they saw the craft at the tarmac.</p><p>According to dpa, which quoted Flightradar data, the plane left Israel Saturday afternoon, circled over the Mediterranean for hours, and then landed in Berlin in the evening.</p><p>Israel’s state aircraft, “Wing of Zion,” is a Boeing 767 equipped for official government trips, serving both the president and the prime minister.</p><p>There have been no immediate comments from the Berlin airport or the Israeli embassy in Berlin.</p><h2>Saudi Arabia strongly condemns Iranian attack on its capital</h2><p>Saudi Arabia has condemned in “the strongest terms” Iran’s attacks on the capital, Riyadh and the eastern region, which it said were “successfully intercepted.”</p><p>The Saudi foreign ministry said Sunday in a statement the attacks came “despite the Iranian authorities’ knowledge that the Kingdom had affirmed it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.”</p>

 Iran’s counterattacks widen after supreme leader killed

By&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/matthew-lee">MATTHEW LEE</a><br>Associated Press

U.S. embassies and consulates across the Middle East instructed employees to shelter in place for a second day on Sunday as joint U.S.-Israel military strikes on Iran continue and Iran launches missile and drone strikes in retaliation.

Embassies in Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan all advised private American citizens living or traveling in those countries to take similar precautions.

The State Department on Saturday issued a “worldwide caution,” warning Americans abroad everywhere, but particularly in the Middle East to boost their personal security profiles.

“Following the launch of U.S. combat operations in Iran, Americans worldwide and especially in the Middle East should follow the guidance in the latest security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate,” it said.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/3/1772369374978.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/matthew-lee">MATTHEW LEE</a><br>Associated Press</p><p>U.S. embassies and consulates across the Middle East instructed employees to shelter in place for a second day on Sunday as joint U.S.-Israel military strikes on Iran continue and Iran launches missile and drone strikes in retaliation.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/3/1772369272580.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Embassies in Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan all advised private American citizens living or traveling in those countries to take similar precautions.</p><p>The State Department on Saturday issued a “worldwide caution,” warning Americans abroad everywhere, but particularly in the Middle East to boost their personal security profiles.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans. Americans worldwide and especially in the Middle East should enroll at <a href="https://t.co/CqaYXeTCG4">https://t.co/CqaYXeTCG4</a> to receive the latest security alerts for their location, including any travel disruptions due to periodic airspace… <a href="https://t.co/Cbon5nvqV7">pic.twitter.com/Cbon5nvqV7</a></p>&mdash; Assistant Secretary Mora Namdar (@AsstSecStateCA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AsstSecStateCA/status/2027886210958368866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>“Following the launch of U.S. combat operations in Iran, Americans worldwide and especially in the Middle East should follow the guidance in the latest security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate,” it said.</p>

U.S. State Dept. issues “worldwide caution” warning to Americans

WASHINGTON (AP) — Key members of Congress are demanding a swift vote on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/war-powers-act-trump-congress-9e6832fb5f5f844acf8992008d3a8d63">war powers resolution</a>&nbsp;that would restrain President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026">military attack on Iran</a>&nbsp;unless the administration wins their approval for what they warn is a potentially illegal campaign that risks pulling the United States into a deeper&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026#0000019c-a522-ddac-ad9f-b7f7ce450000">Middle East conflict</a>.

Both the House and Senate, where the president’s Republican Party has a slim majority, had already drafted such resolutions long before the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-explosion-tehran-c2f11247d8a66e36929266f2c557a54c">strikes Saturday</a>. Now they are ready to plunge into a rare war powers debate next week that will serve as a referendum on Trump’s decision to go it alone on military action without formal authorization from Congress.

“Has President Trump learned nothing from decades of U.S. meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East?” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a leader in the bipartisan effort. He said the strikes on Iran were “a colossal mistake.”

In the House, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., are demanding Congress go on record with a public vote on their own bipartisan measure. “Congress must convene on Monday to vote,” Khanna said, “to stop this.”

Massie blasted Trump’s own presidential campaign slogan and said: “This is not ‘America First.’”

But most Republicans, particularly their leaders, welcomed Trump’s move against Iran. Many cited the longtime U.S. adversary’s nuclear programs and missile capabilities as requiring a military response.

“Well done, Mr. President,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “As I watch and monitor this historic operation, I’m in awe of President Trump’s determination to be a man of peace but at the end of the day, evil’s worst nightmare.”

The administration’s decision to launch, with Israel, what appears to be an open-ended joint military operation aimed at changing the government in Tehran is testing the Constitution’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-house-war-powers-19b78647b9d39cad589fa9fc4477e815">separation of powers</a>&nbsp;in deep and dramatic ways. Nearly two months earlier, Trump ordered U.S. strikes that toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

While presidents have the authority as the commander in chief to conduct certain strategic military operations on their own, the Constitution vests Congress with the power to wage war. Before the Iraq War began in March 2003, Republican President George W. Bush made a monthslong push to secure congressional authorization. No such vote was attempted on Iran, and an earlier Senate effort to halt Trump’s actions after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-program-military-strikes-trump-f0fc085a2605e7da3e2f47ff9ac0e01d">last summer’s strike on Iran</a>&nbsp;failed.

The congressional debate over war powers would mostly be symbolic. Even if a resolution were to pass the narrowly split Congress, Trump likely would veto it and Congress would not have the two-thirds majority needed to overturn that rejection. Congress has often failed to block other U.S. military actions, including in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-senate-war-powers-2350b162d116090759a7428c4b915eea">Senate vote on Venezuela</a>, but the roll calls stand as a public record.

The response by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">House Speaker Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;reflected the party’s long-standing views. Iran, he said, is facing “the severe consequences of its evil actions.”

Johnson, R-La., said the leaders of the House and Senate and the respective intelligence committees had been briefed in detail earlier in the week that military action “may become necessary” to protect U.S. troops and citizens in Iran. He said he received updates from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and will stay in “close contact” with Trump and the Defense Department “as this operation proceeds.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., commended Trump “for taking action to thwart these threats.”

Thune said he looked forward to administration officials briefing all senators — a signal that lawmakers are seeking more answers to their questions about Trump’s plans ahead.

Many Democrats are calling the operation illegal, saying the Constitution gives Congress alone the power to declare war. To them, the administration has failed to lay out its rationale or plan for the military strikes, and the aftermath.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the president has undertaken “illegal, regime-change war against Iran.”

“This is not making us safer &amp; only damages the US &amp; our interests,” Van Hollen, D-Md., said in a social media post. “The Senate must immediately vote on the War Powers Resolution to stop it.”

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said while Iran is a “bad actor and must be aggressively confronted” for its human rights abuses and the threat it poses to the U.S. and allies, the administration “must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war.”

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, demanded that Congress be briefed immediately on the administration’s plans.

“Iran must never be allowed to attain a nuclear weapon but the American people do not want another endless and costly war in the Middle East when there are so many problems at home,” he said.

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Matt Brown contributed to this report.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/2/1772307892150.png" alt="Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command" />
                        <figcaption>Operation Epic Fury -photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Key members of Congress are demanding a swift vote on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/war-powers-act-trump-congress-9e6832fb5f5f844acf8992008d3a8d63">war powers resolution</a>&nbsp;that would restrain President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026">military attack on Iran</a>&nbsp;unless the administration wins their approval for what they warn is a potentially illegal campaign that risks pulling the United States into a deeper&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026#0000019c-a522-ddac-ad9f-b7f7ce450000">Middle East conflict</a>.</p><p>Both the House and Senate, where the president’s Republican Party has a slim majority, had already drafted such resolutions long before the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-explosion-tehran-c2f11247d8a66e36929266f2c557a54c">strikes Saturday</a>. Now they are ready to plunge into a rare war powers debate next week that will serve as a referendum on Trump’s decision to go it alone on military action without formal authorization from Congress.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump has launched an unnecessary, idiotic, and illegal war against Iran that puts America’s servicemembers and embassy personnel at risk. I’m calling on Congress to immediately return to vote on my War Powers Resolution that blocks war with Iran without congressional approval. <a href="https://t.co/lJ2fOElCRM">pic.twitter.com/lJ2fOElCRM</a></p>&mdash; Tim Kaine (@timkaine) <a href="https://twitter.com/timkaine/status/2027763457148281021?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>“Has President Trump learned nothing from decades of U.S. meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East?” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a leader in the bipartisan effort. He said the strikes on Iran were “a colossal mistake.”</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The President has not been granted congressional approval for these acts of war. At the least, this administration must immediately answer to Congress on its objectives, legal justification, and plans to prevent the unnecessary death of American service members.</p>&mdash; Rep. Sharice Davids (@RepDavids) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDavids/status/2027853171272430026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am opposed to this War.<br><br>This is not “America First.”<br><br>When Congress reconvenes, I will work with <a href="https://twitter.com/RepRoKhanna?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepRoKhanna</a> to force a Congressional vote on war with Iran. <br><br>The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.</p>&mdash; Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/2027739993033134279?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>In the House, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., are demanding Congress go on record with a public vote on their own bipartisan measure. “Congress must convene on Monday to vote,” Khanna said, “to stop this.”</p><p>Massie blasted Trump’s own presidential campaign slogan and said: “This is not ‘America First.’”</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As yet another preemptive war is begun in the Middle East, John Quincy Adam’s words of wisdom still ring true:<br><br>“Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be.”<br><br>Like most Americans I…</p>&mdash; Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRandPaul/status/2027763045485674907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>But most Republicans, particularly their leaders, welcomed Trump’s move against Iran. Many cited the longtime U.S. adversary’s nuclear programs and missile capabilities as requiring a military response.</p><p>“Well done, Mr. President,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “As I watch and monitor this historic operation, I’m in awe of President Trump’s determination to be a man of peace but at the end of the day, evil’s worst nightmare.”</p><h2>War powers debate tests Congress</h2><p>The administration’s decision to launch, with Israel, what appears to be an open-ended joint military operation aimed at changing the government in Tehran is testing the Constitution’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-house-war-powers-19b78647b9d39cad589fa9fc4477e815">separation of powers</a>&nbsp;in deep and dramatic ways. Nearly two months earlier, Trump ordered U.S. strikes that toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.</p><p>While presidents have the authority as the commander in chief to conduct certain strategic military operations on their own, the Constitution vests Congress with the power to wage war. Before the Iraq War began in March 2003, Republican President George W. Bush made a monthslong push to secure congressional authorization. No such vote was attempted on Iran, and an earlier Senate effort to halt Trump’s actions after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-program-military-strikes-trump-f0fc085a2605e7da3e2f47ff9ac0e01d">last summer’s strike on Iran</a>&nbsp;failed.</p><p>The congressional debate over war powers would mostly be symbolic. Even if a resolution were to pass the narrowly split Congress, Trump likely would veto it and Congress would not have the two-thirds majority needed to overturn that rejection. Congress has often failed to block other U.S. military actions, including in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-senate-war-powers-2350b162d116090759a7428c4b915eea">Senate vote on Venezuela</a>, but the roll calls stand as a public record.</p><h2>Republican leaders back Trump’s action</h2><p>The response by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">House Speaker Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;reflected the party’s long-standing views. Iran, he said, is facing “the severe consequences of its evil actions.”</p><p>Johnson, R-La., said the leaders of the House and Senate and the respective intelligence committees had been briefed in detail earlier in the week that military action “may become necessary” to protect U.S. troops and citizens in Iran. He said he received updates from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and will stay in “close contact” with Trump and the Defense Department “as this operation proceeds.”</p><p>Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., commended Trump “for taking action to thwart these threats.”</p><p>Thune said he looked forward to administration officials briefing all senators — a signal that lawmakers are seeking more answers to their questions about Trump’s plans ahead.</p><h2>Democrats warn strikes are illegal</h2><p>Many Democrats are calling the operation illegal, saying the Constitution gives Congress alone the power to declare war. To them, the administration has failed to lay out its rationale or plan for the military strikes, and the aftermath.</p><p>Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the president has undertaken “illegal, regime-change war against Iran.”</p><p>“This is not making us safer &amp; only damages the US &amp; our interests,” Van Hollen, D-Md., said in a social media post. “The Senate must immediately vote on the War Powers Resolution to stop it.”</p><p>House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said while Iran is a “bad actor and must be aggressively confronted” for its human rights abuses and the threat it poses to the U.S. and allies, the administration “must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war.”</p><p>New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, demanded that Congress be briefed immediately on the administration’s plans.</p><p>“Iran must never be allowed to attain a nuclear weapon but the American people do not want another endless and costly war in the Middle East when there are so many problems at home,” he said.</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Matt Brown contributed to this report.</p>

War powers debate intensifies after attack on Iran without approval by Congress

KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just after 12:30a.m. Saturday in Kansas City.

A white Pickup truck was traveling at a high rate of speed on N. Oak around NE 103rd in Kansas City, Missouri, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino. The pickup rear-ended a&nbsp;silver Buick.&nbsp; The Buick driver was pronounced dead on scene by EMS personal. 

The driver of the white pickup remained at the scene and was placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI.&nbsp; Polie did not release the name of the driver who died or the driver arrested.

This marks fatality #11 in Kansas City, Missouri for 2026, according to DiMartino.

<p>KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just after 12:30a.m. Saturday in Kansas City.</p><p>A white Pickup truck was traveling at a high rate of speed on N. Oak around NE 103rd in Kansas City, Missouri, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino. The pickup rear-ended a&nbsp;silver Buick.&nbsp; The Buick driver was pronounced dead on scene by EMS personal. </p><p>The driver of the white pickup remained at the scene and was placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI.&nbsp; Polie did not release the name of the driver who died or the driver arrested.</p><p>This marks fatality #11 in Kansas City, Missouri for 2026, according to DiMartino.</p>

Driver arrested after fatal, high-speed crash in Kansas City

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Ayatollah&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ali-khamenei">Ali Khamenei</a>, who assembled theocratic power in Iran over the decades as its supreme leader and sought to turn it into a regional powerhouse, bringing it into confrontation with Israel and the United States&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-iran-politics-government-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-6acdb64d36fcbe05b3ee725d8a585d96">over its nuclear program</a>&nbsp;while crushing democracy protesters at home, has died. He was 86.

(Video below of Iran President Ali Khamenei at the UN Sept. 22, 1987-CSPAN)

Iranian state media reported the death early Sunday, after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-explosion-tehran-c2f11247d8a66e36929266f2c557a54c">a major attack</a>&nbsp;launched by Israel and the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump said hours earlier that Khamenei had been killed in the joint operation.

Khamenei dramatically remolded the Islamic Republic since he took the reins after the death of Ayatollah&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3042785d564d4acaa2e4a18bfc206d25">Ruhollah Khomeini</a>&nbsp;in 1989. Khomeini was the fiery, charismatic ideologue who led the overthrow of the shah and installed rule by Shiite Muslim clerics tasked with spreading religious purity. It fell to Khamenei, a stodgier figure with weaker religious credentials and a leaden demeanor, to turn that revolutionary vision into a state establishment.

He ended up ruling far longer than Khomeini. He greatly expanded the Shiite clerical class and built the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1a91d52c042141e4b7c8e93e6a20040e">paramilitary Revolutionary Guard</a>&nbsp;into the most important body underpinning his rule. The Guard became a military and business behemoth, the country’s most elite force and head of its ballistic missile arsenal, with hands across Iran’s economic sectors.

But the strains became harder to contain. Political repression and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/soaring-cost-of-food-and-essentials-squeeze-iranian-families-amid-tensions-with-us-4fca82ab094b4cedb3e8ad630b704c40">the faltering economy</a>&nbsp;fueled successively bigger waves of mass protests. Anger over the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-mahsa-amini-crackdown-f26a5f687d87785841241d266ca3e872">2022 death of Mahsa Amini</a>, detained for not wearing her mandatory headscarf properly, escalated into demonstrations against social restrictions. In early January, hundreds of thousands marched in cities across the country, many chanting, “Death to Khamenei.”

Khamenei responded with the deadliest crackdown seen in nearly 50 years of clerical rule as security forces opened fire on crowds, killing thousands.

At the same time, the Mideast wars sparked by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-ceasefire-deaths-numbers-3e74e053814fd798fc1321c44f3e3c34">Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel</a>&nbsp;set in motion the collapse of the regionwide “Axis of Resistance” built by Khamenei. Israel and Iran attacked each other directly for the first time in 2024. I&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-nuclear-timeline-war-146b4072f1f6cc43cfd3bde740313a5c">srael struck Iran again in June 2025</a>, as it and the United States&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-iaea-sanctions-728b811da537abe942682e13a82ff8bd">targeted the country’s nuclear program</a>&nbsp;and killed top military officers and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated by sending missiles and drones at Israel.

Khamenei’s death raises questions about the future of the Islamic Republic.

The 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of mostly hard-line clerics, will choose Khamenei’s replacement. But no clear successor is in place.

As he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/live-updates-israel-iran-february-28-2026">launched the bombing</a>&nbsp;in February, U.S. President Donald Trump called on Iranians to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-trump-address-f662a4f3378535d81197be699fb35a3e">“take over your government. It will be yours to take.</a>&nbsp;This will be probably your only chance for generations.” What happens next may depend greatly on bodies like the Revolutionary Guard, which has repeatedly shown its willingness to use overwhelming force to keep power even as many of Iran’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-memorials-chehelom-71e5db503a287126a2d31cb32a2809eb">90 million people grow disenchanted</a>.

“Culturally, the government is bankrupt,” said Mehdi Khalaji, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said in 2017. “The ideology of the Islamic Republic did not work at all.”

From a questioned start to a hard-line grip on Iran

Ali Khamenei was born into a religious family in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, a hotbed of revolutionary fervor during the struggle against the Western-allied shah,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/343d87fdb960424e9ec0f4a90dc64fcb">Mohammad Reza Pahlavi</a>.

Like many other Iranian leaders, he studied under Khomeini at the seminary in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, in the early 1960s, before the Khomeini's exile to Iraq and France.

Khamenei joined the anti-shah movement, facing time in both prison and in hiding. When&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3042785d564d4acaa2e4a18bfc206d25">Khomeini returned to Iran in triumph in February 1979</a>&nbsp;and proclaimed the Islamic Republic, Khamenei was appointed to the secretive Revolutionary Council. In 1981, he was elected Iran's third president; that same year, a bombing by opponents left him with one hand paralyzed.

With his thick, heavy-framed glasses, Khamenei lacked the steely gaze and fiery aura of Khomeini, the father of the Islamic Revolution. He fell far short of Khomeini’s religious scholarship, holding the relatively low rank of “hojatolislam” in the Shiite clerical hierarchy.

After being named supreme leader after Khomeini's death, he bounded overnight to the level of grand ayatollah, at the top of the hierarchy, and for years had to deal with skepticism over his credentials.

Khamenei acknowledged the doubts with humility. “I am an individual with many faults and shortcomings and truly a minor seminarian,” he said in his first speech in his new post.

Despite his lack of charisma, Khamenei stabilized Iran after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-iraq-5da81b6ba552db5f9ad6eb9bf4cc8525">the 1980s war with Iraq</a>&nbsp;and governed for over three decades — far longer than Khomeini.

Hard-liners considered him second only to God in his authority. Khamenei created an ever-growing bureaucracy of Shiite clerics and governmental agencies that blurred responsibilities and left him as the ultimate arbiter. As Iran questioned whether to keep the Revolutionary Guard after the war with Iraq, Khamenei came to its rescue and allowed the paramilitary force to gain a powerful grip on Iran’s economy. He also used a system of appointees to undercut the civilian government elected by its people.

The rise and fall of Iran’s proxy forces

Under Khamenei's reign, Iran shifted fully from conventional warfare to support for proxies, building the so-called Axis of Resistance to advance its interests in the region. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-hezbollahisrael-lebanon-b4daa0a6084df27099cef45b59120034">Lebanese militant group Hezbollah</a>, established with Iran's help in the 1980s, drove Israel from southern Lebanon in 2000 and battled it to a stalemate in the monthlong 2006 war.

Through Hezbollah, Iran perfected a strategy of making local militant groups its allies to project power — often through violence. Iran followed that model when backing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-attacks-iran-ships-retaliation-15d10ed74c7f3cc7fd36fa0f77f73e54">Yemen's Houthi rebels</a>, who in 2014 seized the country's capital, Sanaa, and held on for over a decade in a stalemated war in the Arab world's poorest nation — despite facing a Saudi-led coalition and later,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-red-sea-attacks-israel-f820b848eb76fa3ecc8056ca332cabae">U.S.-led airstrikes over their attacks in the Red Sea</a>&nbsp;corridor.

Elsewhere, suspected Iranian-backed militants bombed a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/argentina-bombing-jewish-community-center-921ee279365a80a729f819117ca905ce">Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994</a>, killing 85 people. Iran also was allegedly linked to the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers housing complex in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 members of the U.S. military. Iran denied responsibility for both attacks.

Iran emerged as a prime beneficiary of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iraq-invasion-war-timeline-saddam-hussein-50828061c98e410063753045179bdcfb">U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003</a>, which replaced its main regional threat, Saddam Hussein, with a friendly Shiite-led government. Iranian-backed militias waged a brutal insurgency against U.S. forces and embedded themselves within the country's political landscape.