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Iran launches new missile strike as U.S. reports death of 8th serviceman

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Iran launches new missile strike as U.S. reports death of 8th serviceman

2026-03-09 19:05 Last Updated At:03-10 00:57

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced early Monday that it had launched a fresh wave of missile and drone strikes targeting U.S. and Israeli assets across the region, as the United States confirmed the death of an eighth service member since fighting began on Feb. 28.

The new assault, which commenced Sunday night, marked the 30th round of Iran's "Operation True Promise 4".

According to the IRGC, the operation employed Khorramshahr-4, Fattah and Kheibar Shekan ballistic missiles alongside drones to strike U.S. military bases across the region and Israeli positions in northern Israel.

The attack came as Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei, was selected Iran's new supreme leader.

In a statement released on Sunday, Iran's Assembly of Experts confirmed Mojtaba Khamenei's selection as the country's third supreme leader, citing "the decisive vote of the respected representatives" of the assembly.

In a separate statement released on Sunday, Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the unified combatant command headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces, claimed that over the past 24 hours, Iran's precision-guided missiles successfully struck four U.S.-deployed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) radar systems: two in Saudi Arabia, and one each in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

The U.S. military is yet to respond to these assertions.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that Iranians would not allow the "enemies" to seize even a single inch of the country's territory, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Pezeshkian made the remarks during a meeting with Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi in Tehran while outlining Iran's position on the ongoing U.S. and Israeli attacks.

Referring to his remarks on Saturday in which he apologized to neighboring countries and said attacks against them would stop, Pezeshkian said the "enemies" had misinterpreted his comments and were seeking to sow discord between Iran and its neighbors.

He stressed that Iran has repeatedly emphasized its "good and brotherly" relations with neighboring countries, adding that if the United States or Israel launch attacks on Iran from the territory of other states, Iran would inevitably respond, but such a response would not mean Iran has disputes with those countries or their people.

In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi rejected the recent demand by U.S. President Donald Trump that Iran "unconditionally surrender."

Araghchi insisted that Iran is engaged in legitimate self-defense against aggression by the U.S. and Israel. He added that Iranian strikes have targeted U.S. military assets and bases, not neighboring countries, warning that any deployment of U.S. ground forces would be met with decisive military action.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Monday that it had launched a new round of airstrikes targeting government facilities in central Iran, alongside operations against Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon.

In a statement released on Sunday, the IDF reported conducting large-scale air operations over the past 24 hours, striking more than 400 Iranian military targets, including ballistic missile launchers and weapons production sites.

The IDF also said that it had struck F-14 fighter jets at Isfahan airports in central Iran.

In a broad wave of intelligence-led strikes, the Israeli air force on Saturday targeted compounds where the jets were stored. Detection and defense systems were also struck, it added.

This strike follows the Israeli air force's destruction of 16 aircraft belonging to Iran's elite Quds Force at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport on Friday.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced late Sunday that a U.S. National Guard soldier died Friday in Kuwait due to a sudden medical emergency, bringing the total number of American service members killed in connection with ongoing military operations against Iran to eight.

In a statement posted on the social media platform X, CENTCOM said the soldier's exact cause of death remains under investigation.

Earlier Sunday, CENTCOM had confirmed that seven U.S. soldiers had been killed since Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks against Iran. Of those seven fatalities, six occurred in Kuwait and one resulted from an Iranian attack on U.S. military infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

Iran launches new missile strike as U.S. reports death of 8th serviceman

Iran launches new missile strike as U.S. reports death of 8th serviceman

China will raise its retail prices of gasoline and diesel from Tuesday, following a sharp rise in international oil prices, the country's top economic planner said on Monday.

Gasoline and diesel prices will increase by 695 yuan (about 100.5 U.S. dollars) and 670 yuan per tonne, respectively, according to a statement released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The NDRC's price monitoring center said that developments in the Middle East will be the key factor influencing global oil price trends in the period ahead.

China's three biggest oil companies -- the China National Petroleum Corporation, the China Petrochemical Corporation, and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation -- and other refineries have been directed to maintain production and facilitate transportation to ensure stable supplies.

Relevant departments in various regions should intensify their market supervision and inspection efforts. They should implement strict measures to crack down on activities that violate national pricing policies to ensure market order, the NDRC said.

China to raise gasoline, diesel retail prices

China to raise gasoline, diesel retail prices

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