Middle East war: Many injured in Saudi Arabia as Trump threatens next Iran leader

Here are the latest events in the Middle East war on Sunday, March 8, 2026.

Dead, wounded in Saudi

Saudi Arabian civil defence officials said a “projectile” had killed two people and wounded 12.

Its defence ministry reported intercepting 15 drones, including an attempted attack in the diplomatic quarter of the capital Riyadh.

Trump threatens next Iran leader

Uunited States President Donald Trump told ABC News Iran’s next leader would need Washington’s approval if they wanted to last.

“He’s going to have to get approval from us. If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long,” Trump said.

Earlier, members of Iran’s Assembly of Experts said they met and chose a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel’s military has vowed to target “any successor and anyone seeking to appoint one”.

Starmer and Trump talk

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump held a call on Sunday about the war in the Middle East, said a UK government statement.

It follows days of insults lobbed by Trump at Starmer over the latter’s initial refusal to have any role in the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Tehran hit

Several blasts were heard in various parts of the Iranian capital on Sunday.

It was not immediately clear what was targeted, with clouds of smoke still shrouding the skyline after overnight strikes on oil depots in and around Tehran.

Palestinian camp hit

Israel struck a Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon, Lebanese state media reported.

The National News Agency said “enemy warplanes launched two raids on the Ain al-Hilweh camp in Sidon”.

Iran defiant

Iran’s foreign minister said the Iranian people, not the US president, would elect their new leader. “We will allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs,” Abbas Araghchi told NBC.

Trump should apologise to the people of Iran and the region for the “killings and destruction”, he added.

Defending strikes on Gulf neighbours, he said that while Iranian missiles could not reach US soil, they could target US bases in the region.

Iran’s next supreme leader won’t survive without US nod – Trump

‘Reckless’ attacks

The head of the Arab League said Iran’s attacks on several member states were “reckless”, urging Tehran to reverse what he called a “massive strategic mistake”.

Space force HQ

Israel’s military said it struck what it called the “space force headquarters” of Iran’s Guards in Tehran.

Israeli casualties

Israel’s military said two of its soldiers had been killed fighting in southern Lebanon – the first Israeli troops to have died since fighting flared with Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah.

Six people were wounded, some by shrapnel, at blast sites in central Israel, first responders said.

Abu Dhabi blasts

Witnesses told AFP of hearing fresh explosions in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

Lebanon toll climbs

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed 394 people in the past week, including 83 children and 42 women, the country’s health minister said.

He said nine rescue workers were among those killed, condemning attacks on medical teams and ambulances.

Iranians leave Beirut

More than 100 Iranians, including some diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut overnight on a Russian plane, a Lebanese official said.

Blasts across Iran

State media reported explosions in Iran’s central Yazd province on Sunday.

The official IRNA news agency said the blasts occurred on the periphery of Yazd city.

Earlier, explosions were reported in other parts of the country including the capital and the central Isfahan province.

Israel pounds Lebanon

Lebanon said an Israeli strike on a Beirut hotel had killed four people.

The Israeli military said it had carried out a “precise strike” in Beirut targeting commanders from the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Quds Force.

In southern Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah, the health ministry said eight people were killed in strikes on more than 20 towns and villages.

The Star