President Donald Trump told NBC News he would like Iran to have a “good leader,” and has some names in mind for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s replacement.
What to know
INVASION A ‘WASTE OF TIME’: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told “NBC Nightly News” that Iran is not asking for a ceasefire and is ready for any U.S. ground invasion. President Donald Trump told NBC News that would be a “waste of time,” adding “they’ve lost everything they can lose.” The pace and intensity of air strikes will continue, he said.
NEW WAVE OF ATTACKS: Israel targeted the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and the Iranian capital, Tehran, with intense overnight bombardment that woke residents and shook windows. Iran’s escalating retaliatory campaign continued with a new round of strikes, including on Tel Aviv.
NEW LEADER?: The U.S.-Israeli attack that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei created a power vacuum in Iran for the first time in decades. While Trump said Iran should have a “good leader” and that he has some names in mind, the clerics choosing the new figurehead were making plans to “introduce the future leader,” state media reported.
GULF NATIONS UNDER ATTACK: Iran has continued to strike neighboring Gulf nations with missiles and drones. The State Department said nearly 20,000 American citizens have returned to the U.S. since the war began Saturday, but thousands remain stranded in the Middle East.
DEATH TOLL RISES: Hundreds of people have been killed across the Middle East. In Iran, more than 940 have been killed by Israeli and American strikes, Iranian state media reported, and 11 have died in Israel as Iran fired back. The U.S. government has identified six service members who were killed. And in Lebanon, 123 people have been killed by Israeli strikes.